Who's got the right experience to be Wisconsin's next attorney general? Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and former U.S. Attorney J.B. Van Hollen debated a number of issues Wednesday night; whose experience best suits them for the job was a recurring theme. Republican Van Hollen said his experience in both criminal and civil cases makes him the best choice. "The U.S. Attorney's office is more like the Attorney General's office than any other office could be," said Van Hollen.
But Falk cited her fourteen years as an assistant state attorney general, and said the state's second largest county is no small task, "managing a $450 budget every day, five times larger than the Department of Justice, and many times larger than anything my opponent has run."
Van Hollen said Falk's fourteen years as state public intervenor does not count as law enforcement experience. Falk said during that time she successfully argued numerous cases at the appellate court level — something Van Hollen has never done.
The candidates to succeed Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager met in the one-hour debate, cosponsored by the State Bar, WisPolitics.com, the Wisconsin State Journal , the Wisconsin Law Journal , and WRN.