Dan Gelber for Attorney General

With the exception of the governor, the attorney general is the most powerful political position in the state, and Floridians are lucky to have a strong field from which to choose candidates for the general election.

The Democrats will choose between two smart and capable lawyers, state Sens. Dan Gelber and Dave Aronberg. The Republicans must decide among local prosecutor Pam Bondi, former state agency head Holly Benson and the sitting lieutenant governor, Jeff Kottkamp. Our choices are Gelber and Bondi.

Gelber, 49, holds a law degree from the University of Florida. He worked as a federal prosecutor for almost a decade after law school before being picked by former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn to be chief counsel of the U.S. Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, where he directed inquiries worldwide into terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. He won a seat in the state House of Representatives in 2000 and was elected to the state Senate in 2008.

The Miami Beach native promises to use the attorney general's office "to fight for everyday citizens." He believes the office has been on "automatic pilot" under Attorneys General Charlie Crist and Bill McCollum and promises to be a proactive AG.

Gelber understands the power of the office, observing correctly that except for the Supreme Court, he would answer to no one in Tallahassee. Indeed, he has a record of standing up to powerful corporate interests and influential politicians who are used to getting their way, like former Gov. Jeb Bush. He has led consequential investigations and supervised operations bigger than the one he would take over if elected.

Gelber pledges to coordinate with other state and federal agencies on prosecutions and investigations. He would focus also on public corruption cases and Medicaid fraud. He wants to take a look at the mortgage industry, specifically loan consolidations.

He is also well aware of the complex legal avenue the state will travel in response to the oil crisis in the Gulf. There will be criminal and civil cases and legal battles in both state and federal courts. He understands the attorney general must keep up with the strategic directions of the lawsuits and has asked Gov. Crist to form a commission to facilitate that on the people's behalf.

We disagree with Gelber's belief that Florida's court challenge of health care reform is a waste of time and resources. We think it is an appropriate challenge of the federal government's authority over the states.

Gelber's opponent, Aronberg, 39, has been a senator for eight years. The Harvard law graduate and former White House fellow from Greenacres in South Florida serves a Republican district and is known as a moderate Democrat and fierce consumer advocate. He served as an assistant attorney general before his election to the Senate and would make a good attorney general.

Aronberg has tried to make an issue of Gelber's former firm's representation of BP following the oil leak, but this criticism is not persuasive. Gelber is the superior candidate. For attorney general in the Democratic primary the Tribune endorses Dan Gelber.

For the Republicans we prefer Tampa's Pam Bondi. The Stetson Law School graduate has never run for public office before and it shows, but she also says she has no higher political ambition and will return home at the end of her term if she is elected.

Bondi, 44, is a career prosecutor in Hillsborough County, having worked in Democratic and Republican administrations. For the last 10 years she has been a top lieutenant of State Attorney Mark Ober and has helped manage his office. She has appeared frequently on national television as a legal commentator.

As AG, Bondi would expand the state's gang task force and focus on Medicaid fraud prosecutions, and she would develop a closer relationship with federal and local prosecutors to avoid a duplication of work. As for the oil crisis she would "look out for fishermen, for business, for Realtors" damaged by the accident.

Bondi says she would follow through with the health care lawsuit because she believes the federal requirement to own health insurance is unconstitutional.

But she is hazy on some key state issues, including growth management, and it's disappointing that she supported near-shore drilling until the recent spill. She needs to move beyond party talking points and show she will think for herself.

Her competitors Benson, 39, and Kottkamp, 49, are worthy adversaries. Both are smart and have a firm grasp of statewide issues, having served in the Legislature and under Crist.

But we know Bondi to be bright, studious and trustworthy. As a prosecutor, she has proved her mettle. For attorney general in the Republican primary, the Tribune endorses Pam Bondi.