State Sen. Tom Harman looking at 2010 Attorney General's race

By Ben van der Meer, PolitickerCA.com Senior Reporter

State Sen. Tom Harman (R-Huntington Beach) has filed a statement of interest to run for state Attorney General in two years, though he said this week that he hasn't made a for-sure decision to run.

"It looks like there's an opportunity there, and there aren't a lot of Republican legislators who are also attorneys," said Harman, a civil attorney before being elected to the state legislature eight years ago. "It's an opportunity I'm real serious about."

But with talk bubbling that other GOP names could get into the race, as well as an established field on the Democrats' side, Harman said there's awhile before he'll make a final decision.

"It's a long ways out," he said. "We're going to make a race out of it."

One observer said Harman has made a smart move in being the first declared GOP candidate for the seat.

"Normally the first person to ask is the one who gets the endorsement," said Stephen Frank, publisher of the California Political News and Views newsletter. "Now that Harman has announced, he'll say correctly that I'm the only Republican candidate for Attorney General."

Frank added that he believes former U.S. Rep. Tom Campbell (R-San Jose), who currently has an active account to run for governor in 2010, may switch to run for attorney general.

Harman had some critical words for current Attorney General Jerry Brown, who many believe is eyeing a return to the governor's post in 2010 rather than running for re-election.

Brown has been far too aggressive in trying to implement the greenhouse-gas reduction law AB 32, Harman said, without considering the law's effect on the economy.

"I think, given our economic downturn, it would be a good time to have an attorney general that's both business friendly and sensitive to environmental concerns," Harman said.

Harman specifically cited Brown's involvement in questioning whether air-quality impacts are being considered in planning in San Bernardino County.

Though the attorney general's position is considered the state's top law enforcement post, Harman said, he believes most of the efforts to address crime happen at the local level, though he's a strong believer in law and order and has been a member of the Judiciary Committee in both the state Senate and Assembly.

Where he would push for a change, he said, is in the appeals process as it relates to the death penalty.

Right now, all death penalty appeals immediately go to the state Supreme Court, creating a backlog. Harman said he'd like to see some of those appeals be dealt with at the appellate court level.

"Whether you support or oppose the death penalty, the process for appeal is completely broken," Harman said.

First elected to the state Assembly in 2000, Harman had previously served six years on the Huntington Beach City Council. He was elected to the 35th State Senate District in a 2006 special election to fill the seat vacated by then-state Sen. John Campbell (R-Irvine) after Campbell was elected to Congress.

Harman was elected to a full four-year term last month, but has not filed to run for re-election in 2012.

PolitickerCA.com reporter James Gerber contributed to this report.

Ben van der Meer is a PolitickerCA.com Senior Reporter and can be reached via email at noreply@politicker.com.

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