Published: June 10, 2008 11:32 pm         

Republican attorney general hopeful brings ‘Thank You/Unity Tour’ to Terre Haute

TERRE HAUTE — Greg Zoeller has his campaign priorities straight to run for attorney general.

The Republican candidate explained them Tuesday when he stopped in Terre Haute during his “Thank You/Unity Tour.”

“I’ve always told everybody that job number one … was to re-elect our great governor Mitch Daniels,” he said. “That’s part of my platform every place I go, is talk about the number one priority, [which] is members of the Republican team state office campus.”

As far as his own campaign, Zoeller said his experience speaks for itself. He said Attorney General Steve Carter, who chose not to seek a third term, has made the job look too easy.

He plans to advance on policies Carter implemented such as the Do Not Call List and managing Indiana’s unclaimed property, but he’s also hoping to take the attorney general’s job further by defending teachers sued on use of discipline.

School corporations are currently responsible for paying court costs of those cases, which Zoeller said can run $10,000 to $15,000. If the teacher’s school board asks the attorney general to represent the teacher and is willing to say the teacher acted appropriately, Zoeller would like his office to defend the teacher, if he’s elected.

On the matter of party unity, Zoeller talked about meeting with his former challenger, Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas, who has pledged to help Zoeller with his campaign. District 8 Congressional hopeful Greg Goode was on hand to show his support for Zoeller as Zoeller voiced his support for Goode as well.

Goode said Zoeller was too humble because much of Carter’s success was because of Zoeller’s hard work “pushing through some very ambitious goals and some results like the No Call List, where Indiana is a leader in this country and other states are following the lead of the state of Indiana.”

More than $700,000 has been netted from No Call List lawsuits and fines. The state has never settled out of court on a case and has not lost a case yet, either, Zoeller said.

Overall, Zoeller also noted that the Office of Attorney General’s budget has been the same since 2001.

“Now, it’s true, we’ve got more lawyers and we do spend more money,” but the cost is covered by fines taken from cases, he said. “ … The cost to the taxpayer is exactly the same as when we took office.”

A New Albany native, Zoeller served as Carter’s chief deputy and chief of the litigation division and of advisory services since 2001. He also served as the assistant to Vice President Dan Quayle in the White House from 1989 to 1991, and previously served Quayle in Washington when Quayle was a senator. Zoeller has served Indiana in legislative and executive capacities since 1982.

Crystal Garcia can be reached at (812) 231-4271 or crystal.garcia@tribstar.com.