McCulloch, Callahan generate U.S. attorney talk
Last Tuesday’s election of Democrat Barack Obama as the nation’s next president is setting off the usual jockeying for jobs and key appointments in a new administration.
In Missouri, most of the speculation deals with regional posts. And two of the most sought-after are the U.S. attorney slots for Missouri’s eastern and western districts.
The eastern district U.S. attorney is Catherine Hanaway of west St. Louis County. She’s the former state House speaker who made an unsuccessful bid for secretary of state in 2004. She also is a longtime protege of Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond, R-Mo.
The western district U. S. attorney is John F. Wood. He’s also close to Bond, who was cited in a recent report as having been a key figure in forcing out then-U.S. Attorney Todd Graves from the job in 2005; Graves is the brother of U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, whose office often has been at odds with Bond’s. Bond has denied taking any inappropriate action.
A little background:
U.S. attorneys are to enforce the law in a nonpartisan manner. However, their appointments have a political aspect. Most have key connections. All serve at the pleasure of the president, and generally are replaced when there is a new one. As a rule, they serve four-year terms.
(The flap over the ‘05-’07 replacement or firing of various U.S. attorneys, including Graves and his successor, Bradley J. Schlozman, dealt with the fact that they were being removed in mid-term, and some of them were alleging it was for political reasons, not performance.)
U.S. attorneys often are close to key political figures in their party. (When both of Missouri’s U.S. senators were Republicans, it was U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-St. Louis County, who played a major role in their selection during fellow Democrat Bill Clinton’s administration.)
That said, Obama’s election means that Bond no longer will wield as much power in the U.S. attorney selection in Missouri. That clout shifts to U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., a close Obama ally.
Rumors are circulating that the contenders could include St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch, who stuck his neck out for McCaskill in ‘04, when he endorsed her bid to oust a fellow Democrat, then-Gov. Bob Holden.
Also being named: Cole County Judge Richard Callahan, also seen as close to various Democrats.
By the way, Hanaway has gotten good marks from the local law-enforcement and judicial community, so it may be interesting to see how she is treated during all this maneuvering. A political person herself, Hanaway no doubt recognizes what Obama’s election likely means, as far as her future tenure in her current job.
I was suprised that McCulloch didn’t throw his hat in the ring for Mo Atty General when Nixon stated he would run for Governor. I figured he was happy as St Louis prosecutor. He would make a great US Attorney.