Arriving without baggage
By Patrick Kelley
Originally published 01:53 p.m., January 21, 2008
Updated 01:53 p.m., January 21, 2008
Kansans were introduced to their new attorney general, Stephen Six, on Friday. Outside legal circles, the general reaction was probably “Who?”
Six is not well-known outside Lawrence, where he has been serving as a district judge. Because he has not been subjected to the long winnowing of the election process, his views on the issues which have played such a large part in recent elections are not known. He has not been in the state spotlight long enough to make many friends or enemies, and that is just as well.
As befits an appointee, Six did not give a campaign speech at the governor’s news conference on Friday, but limited himself to a promise to follow the examples of his grandfather and his father. His father is Fred Six, who retired from the Supreme Court of Kansas in 2003 after 15 years on the bench.
“I tried to follow these examples and live my life according to these standards,” Six said. “I promise to serve with integrity as an independent representative of the people of Kansas.”
That would be a good start.
We suggest that the new attorney general begin by strengthening those services that can most benefit the people of the state. His predecessor had already begun to rebuild the office’s domestic-violence staff, and that work should continue. Increasingly important in this era of identity theft and Internet crime is the consumer-protection division. That division needs his full support.
If Six uses his new office to protect the people of Kansas, he will be doing a good job.