Republican Attorney General Candidate Steve Baril is pulling no punches in his duel with Del. Bob McDonnell, R-Virginia Beach. In today’s campaign missive, he accused McDonnell of “wielding his influence in the General Assembly to make money and intimidate state agencies.” Stated the press release:
Over the last six years alone, McDonnell has represented dozens of clients before 17 different state boards and agencies. He has made between $150,000 and $700,000 as a result of the unethical practice. This was brought to light in a Virginian-Pilot editorial in 2003, which stated, “McDonnell led the pack far-and-away” of representing clients before state agencies. The Pilot added that McDonnell routinely fails to “identify his clients by name,” and “Republican McDonnell is repeating the mistakes of prominent Democrats when their party was in power.” …
“How can an ordinary citizen expect to get a fair shake in a dispute before state boards or agencies when wealthy corporations and special interest groups hire the powerful Chairman of the House Courts of Justice Committee to plead their side?” Baril asked. “The obvious answer is, they don’t.” Baril called on McDonnell to disclose every case and every client, because “the voters have a right to know.”
If elected, Baril promised, he would ill re-introduce the same bill Jerry Kilgore proposed in 2001 to prohibit legislators from representing clients before state agencies. Of course, if McDonnell is guilty of what Baril accuses him of, so are a lot of other state senators and delegates. Baril’s statement didn’t note why Kilgore’s bill never became law. My guess is that Baril’s bill wouldn’t be any more likely to win the approval of…. who? legislators who represent clients before state agencies?