“He has the background and the vision to serve South Carolina well”

Wilson is running to be the top prosecutor in the state, and he has prosecutorial experience. He has served as assistant solicitor in Lexington County and as assistant attorney general.

He also has some excellent leadership experience. He is a major in the S.C. National Guard who led men in combat in Iraq in 2007.

Those qualities are likely to combine to make Wilson an effective attorney general. And he has worthwhile plans for the office.

Wilson is correct in pointing out that state and federal authorities have focused on law enforcement but have left the court system undermanned. He wants to loan prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Office to circuit solicitors to help them try cases and reduce court backlogs.

He wants to use new lawyers to prosecute victimless crimes and increase the office’s pro bono program to help prosecute criminal domestic violence cases.

Wilson also plans to run periodic seminars for law enforcement officers across the state to update their training on legal issues such as maintaining chains of evidence and testifying in court.

He is committed to pursuing the state’s lawsuit — along with 19 other states — against the federal government, challenging the constitutional authority of the federal health care changes. That suit is necessary to determine where the limits of federal authority lie.

Wilson is also committed to holding the federal government to the agreements it made with the state regarding the nuclear waste stored at the Savannah River Site. It is unlikely that Washington will remove that dangerous material from this state under the timetable to which it agreed. South Carolina will need a strong leader to demand compensation from the federal government.

Wilson, a Republican, is opposed by Democrat Matthew Richardson. Richardson is a bright attorney who espouses many conservative positions. He wants to focus on public corruption.

It would be better if either of the candidates had served a few years as a circuit solicitor, running a prosecuting agency, but neither has. Wilson has some experience as a prosecutor and in the Attorney General’s Office. That gives him an edge.

Wilson has some of the experience needed for the job. He has the personal qualities and the vision for the office that recommend him to South Carolina voters. He is the best choice as the Palmetto State’s next attorney general.

By “GoUpstate.com”