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Attorney General Terry Goddard, a Tucson native and a formidable public servant all of his adult life, has in the last three years built a solid record of achievements as the state's top lawyer.

Because of his work in consumer fraud and predatory lending, his steps toward controlling the proliferation of crystal meth labs and his campaign to seize money sent to coyotes involved in human smuggling, the Star endorses Goddard for re-election.

Goddard, a Democrat who formerly served four terms as mayor of Phoenix, is opposed in the attorney general's race by Republican Bill Montgomery of Gilbert, who is making his first bid for public office.

One of the major achievements of the Attorney General's Office during Goddard's first term was the successful prosecution of two former executives of the Baptist Foundation of Arizona. Last month, former foundation President William Crotts was sentenced to eight years in prison, and former general counsel Thomas Grabinski was sentenced to six years on fraud and racketeering charges.

Both men also were ordered to pay $159 million to make up for part of the estimated $585 million lost by some 1,100 mostly elderly investors when the foundation collapsed in 1999.

Goddard has made some inroads in the fight against meth production. Noting that "meth is the only illegal drug that can be made at home with ingredients that are readily available," he has been a successful advocate for requiring pharmacies to keep pseudoephedrine behind the counter.

Goddard calls meth "the No. 1 illegal drug contributing to violent crime in Arizona."

Goddard has also been relentless and outspoken in his attempts to regulate the payday loan business in Arizona. Unscrupulous payday lenders start out by offering consumers short-term loans at 400 percent interest; if that were not bad enough, multiple rollovers can easily boost that figure to 1,000 percent interest, Goddard noted in a meeting with the Star's editorial board.

Goddard's attempts to regulate the industry have been thwarted in the Legislature. State Sen. Marian McClure, R-Tucson, introduced a bill in the last session of the Legislature that prohibits companies from renewing loans to members of the military or their spouses. The bill was so watered down that its passage gave her no satisfaction. Goddard said he hopes to work with McClure on a new and stronger bill in the next session, which opens in January.

In the last few years, Goddard has stepped up his office's attempt to reduce human smuggling. Mexican citizens often hire smugglers, also known as coyotes, to get them into the United States illegally. Once here, they are held in drophouses until the coyote is paid, usually about $1,600 per person, through a wire transfer via Western Union. The state Department of Public Safety estimates that human smuggling generates close to $2 billion a year for the coyotes.

In his first term, Goddard said, state agents have seized more than $17 million in wire transfers the state believes were headed to coyotes.

Goddard's pragmatic and aggressive efforts reflect his experience and commitment to public service.