Bill Montgomery

A former deputy county prosecutor and Gulf War veteran began his campaign for attorney general by charging that Democrats have failed to confront Arizona’s problem with identity theft and crimes perpetuated by illegal immigrants.
“Arizona has had the nation-leading crime rate ever since Janet Napolitano’s first full year as attorney general and for each and every year under Terry Goddard,” said Bill Montgomery, a Republican and former prosecutor with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, in a release.
The state has become “number one” in crime according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Index, while Mr. Goddard has remained “utterly silent” on any role local law enforcement could take to interdict illegal immigrants, he said.
The disinterest Mr. Goddard has shown to illegal immigration has harmed the state and contributed to its crime rate by allowing the smuggling of methamphetamine from Mexico to occur along the same routes used by undocumented immigrants, he said.
He also said Mr. Goddard attended an AFL-CIO summit in San Francisco when federal and local law enforcement agents were being recognized at a May 12 Law Enforcement Coordinating Council Awards Banquet in Tucson, calling it a “failure to provide leadership.”
Mr. Montgomery recently stepped down from a staff lawyer position for the Crime Victim’s Legal Assistance Project, a group of students and volunteer attorneys who help victims through legal proceedings.
He turned in 8,310 nominating signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office on June 12, thousands more than 5,213 required by law to seek the statewide office.
The Gilbert native said he also submitted 3,422 $5 contributions to the Secretary of State’s Office to qualify for public campaign funding.
Candidates for attorney general are required to collect a minimum of 2,625 contributions to qualify, though the Citizens Clean Elections Commission recommends candidates collect and file 20 percent more than the minimum.
As of June 14, the deadline to register with the secretary of state in order to declare candidacy for office in Arizona, Mr. Goddard and Mr. Montgomery are the only candidates for attorney general.