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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, January 30, 1993                   TAG: 9302010247
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

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TRADITION

MARY SUE Terry did well to resign as attorney general as she embarks on her campaign for governor.

The political implications of her decision are relatively unimportant. (She doesn't need our political advice in any case.)

Nor does the public benefit lie so much in the reason often cited: that running for other office is too much a distraction from what should be a full-time job. (If that were so important, why shouldn't congressmen and governors resign before campaigning?)

Rather, the benefit lies in reducing potential conflict of interest in campaign fund-raising, which is particularly intense for an attorney general, the commonwealth's chief legal officer.

The tradition of attorneys general resigning to campaign isn't a perfect answer. They raise money to run for re-election and don't resign. When they run for other office, the money-raising usually starts before the resignation. Still, the tradition helps.

Keywords:
POLITICS

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