From Washington to Indy, Greg Zoeller dedicated to public service.
by Michael Puente
Greg Zoeller recently sent out a letter seeking financial support for a possible run at a third consecutive four-year term in 2016 as Indiana attorney general. But that doesn't mean he's ready to say if he's running. “I usually tell people that I'm not committing to running for a third term. I've always thought that a good lawyer is prepared for whatever they decide to do. So, if I do decide to run for a third term, I'll be prepared to do it. I won't have to suddenly hurry and try to get prepared,” Zoeller tells Northwest Indiana Business Quarterly. “I won't decide until early 2016 when I have to make a decision for not only the best interest for the office and state, but I've got a young family. So you have to weigh all those things when the time is right to make a decision.”
But it's that aspect of political office that Zoeller, a married father of three children, dislikes. “I've actually never really liked politics,” says Zoeller, a native of New Albany. “It's not to say that I'm not familiar with it or understand the building is filled with politics.” Although elected to office in a political process, the Republican Zoeller says the office is operated in a non-partisan fashion.
“I think the office of the attorney general is unique in the non-partisan role we play. It's not by bipartisan where you have part of the office Republican and the other part Democrat. I think that gives us the credibility to do that job because we work with prosecutors who might be elected by either party,” Zoeller says. “We come in front of judges everyday who are elected by one party or the other. And I have to work with the legislature and all my clients. If they think of me as a partisan, I've lost the credibility because the Republicans might think I may do them favors and the Democrats may think I'm adverse to them, which neither is true.”
With 152 lawyers on staff, the attorney general's office handles about 1,600 criminal appeals a year. “It's the county prosecutor's job to secure the conviction. It's the Office of the Attorney General's job to defend those convictions,” Zoeller says. But the primary focus of the office is consumer protection. Zoeller's office is perhaps known mainly for its aggressive defense of the Do Not Call List, a tool to keep telemarketers from making unwanted calls to Hoosiers. “I think there's a sense of privacy around one's home. The problem with robocalls is that the calls that are made are at the convenience of the caller, not the person receiving it,” Zoeller says.
The Do Not Call List has expanded to include cell phones, but Zoeller admits it's getting harder to enforce because of technology. “I think it has become a little more of a problem with the cell phones. I've actually gotten a lot of support from the phone carriers. They've lost so much of the market share because people take out their landline due to the barrage of robocalls, that even the providers are now starting to support greater restrictions against the VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) mass marketing of these robocalls.”
Besides the Do Not Call List, Zoeller's office has worked to increase protections for homeowners against foreclosures and helping teachers in returning discipline to the classroom.
Much of what Zoeller's office does is defensive in nature. But Zoeller likes to play offensive such as battling scam artists with proactive investigations, and aggressively looks to shut down fraudulent businesses.
“I think the office can do a lot more in taking an affirmative step in trying to protect people, to work with our public safety personnel–whether it's to fight prescription drug abuse or meth labs–and working with prosecutors has really been a much higher priority for me,” Zoeller says.
The AG's office has even set up a consumer alert program that works as an early warning system. Once signed up, residents are alerted of frauds believed to pose a threat to Hoosiers with links to tips on how to avoid the scams and what to do if victimized.
In trying to shut down fraudulent business, Zoeller says he has actually received cooperation from business groups that can sometimes see government as intrusive. “We've worked with the chamber of commerce and other legitimate business groups and retail associations who want to run out the bad actors,” Zoeller says. “I've gotten no push back.”
With the Indiana General Assembly set to convene in early January, Zoeller says his office is still formulating its legislative priorities. One bill that the AG will actively pursue is the “Lifeline Law.”
If passed, the bill would provide immunity for anyone who calls 911 in the event someone is dying from alcohol poisoning. “We're seeing a lot of college kids drinking straight alcohol, sometimes it's high school students, and they're dying. It's become a major problem,” Zoeller says.
Zoeller says if someone is in the position to call 911 for help, they will not be prosecuted. “We have to see first if prosecutors are comfortable with this,” Zoeller says.
In the years before coming attorney general, Zoeller served as special assistant to U.S. Attorney General Richard Thornburg in 1988 and as senior counsel to the House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform and Oversight in 1998.
As a young lawyer, Zoeller worked for a freshman U.S. Senator Dan Quayle, who of course would go on to become vice president of the United States under President George H.W. Bush. Zoeller served as assistant to Vice President Quayle in the White House from 1989 to 1991.
But it's Zoeller's work while serving as chief deputy attorney general under his predecessor, Steve Carter, that sets him apart for any other AG who has come before him. Zoeller actually once did the work that his deputies now perform. “I think it gives me a much higher respect for them because I understand the hard work that they put in,” Zoeller says.
Whether he runs for a third term or not, Zoeller says he enjoys serving the public. “It's really far and away the best job I've ever had,” Zoeller says. “I'm working with a team of lawyers most of whom I've hired myself. They know me as a lawyer who worked in the office myself.”
