BY MICHAEL HAWTHORNE
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
Candidates for Ohio attorney general clashed Tuesday over the role of the state's top lawyer in school funding and the $4.1 million settlement with Lucasville prison inmates.
Trailing in opinion polls and fund raising, Democratic challenger Richard Cordray went on the attack, arguing that Republican incumbent Betty Montgomery should have pressured state lawmakers to meet their court-ordered obligation to fix the way public schools are funded.
During a joint appearance before The Cincinnati Enquirer -->editorial board, Mr. Cordray also lambasted Ms. Montgomery for approving the settlement with inmates injured in the 1993 riot at the Lucasville maximum-security prison.
Ms. Montgomery fired back, accusing Mr. Cordray several times of "legal arrogance" and sarcastically suggesting that he wants to wield powers now divided among the governor, General Assembly and judiciary.
The pair grew increasingly testy with each question asked of them during the 90-minute interview, frequently interrupting each other and demanding equal time to respond.
While both agreed the attorney general should help police fight crime, they differed sharply about the office's traditional roles -- dealing with civil litigation and representing state agencies. Mr. Cordray said he would refuse to assist the governor and General Assembly in defending their response to the Ohio Supreme Court's landmark decision that declared the state's school funding system inadequate and unconstitutional.
"My job as attorney general (would be) to be an independent watchdog in state government to make sure the law is obeyed and respected," said Mr. Cordray, a former state legislator and state solicitor. "It is difficult to look at what the legislature did and think they made a good-faith effort."
He made a similar point regarding the settlement with Lucasville inmates, arguing that Ms. Montgomery should have ignored the objections of state prison officials and insisted that the case go to court. "I would not have settled it, and I would not have settled it on the terms they did," he said.
Ms. Montgomery, a former Wood County prosecutor and state senator, said her office can't pick and choose to defend cases based on her personal beliefs.
Their respective views on the school funding case mirror their actions and proposals. He said the court decision was correct, while she called it "judicial overreach."
"There are clients I would love to fire, but I can't be arrogant about it," she said. "I can't substitute my judgment for my client's." Ms. Montgomery said she didn't want to endorse the Lucasville settlement, but agreed after prison officials noted that the state of New York recently settled its first case from the Attica prison riot 25 years ago.
Prolonging the Lucasville case could have ended up costing taxpayers far more than the $4.1 million paid out, she said.
"That was the toughest decision I've made," she said. "But I don't think anybody can say I've been soft on crime. If anything, I've been known as "Bloody Betty.' "
Opinion polls show Ms. Montgomery has a substantial lead over Mr. Cordray, but during the interview she often acted as if the race was closer.
At one point, she accused Mr. Cordray of reciting a "book of lies" about her record. She later produced a list of environmental cases her office has litigated after he accused her of ignoring the problems.
Mr. Cordray, meanwhile, complained that she refuses to debate him in public forums.
