HELENA (AP)
House Minority Leader John Parker has joined a growing field of candidates seeking to be the state’s next attorney general. Parker, a Great Falls Democrat, notified the Office of Political Practices on March 13 that he will be running, but said he will not make a formal announcement until after lawmakers adjourn. “Right now my priority is state budget matters and the other work of the legislative session,” he said. Parker first served in the Legislature in 2003. He is a county prosecutor and a graduate of the University of Montana Law School. Two other Democrats have also signaled their intent to run Helena attorney Steve Bullock and former state Sen. Mike Wheat of Bozeman. Bullock has worked previously as an executive assistant attorney general to then- Attorney General Joe Mazurek and as chief legal counsel for former Secretary of State Mike Cooney. Bullock was also the director of a group that supported a ballot initiative in the last election to raise the state’s minimum wage. In a statement, Bullock said Mazurek will be his campaign treasurer. Wheat announced his candidacy on Tuesday. He was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2005. He was also in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War and received a Purple Heart. Attorney General Mike McGrath cannot run again because of term limits.
