Local Alumni in the News

GOP gets matchup it wanted
Veteran prosecutor to run for attorney general
By PATRICK JACKSON and SEAN O'SULLIVAN
The News Journal

03/28/2006
Wharton vs. Biden.

It's the matchup Delaware Republicans have been pining for, and Monday, Ferris Wharton (Illinois Law School alumus) made the wish come true.

Wharton, who resigned Friday as an assistant U.S. attorney, said he plans to run against Joseph "Beau" Biden III for Delaware attorney general. It's a contest political observers say could eclipse the state's congressional and U.S. Senate races in November.

The open field was created last fall when Gov. Ruth Ann Minner picked then-Attorney General M. Jane Brady, a Republican, to fill a spot on the Superior Court bench. Carl Danberg, who was Brady's chief deputy attorney general, was appointed to fill her term and does not plan to oppose Biden for the Democratic nomination.

Wharton, a former chief deputy in Brady's office, had been recruited heavily by Republicans because of his experience as a state and federal prosecutor. They plan to contrast his 25 years of experience in Delaware with Biden's five years as a federal prosecutor in Pennsylvania.

"I think I have the kind of experience and qualifications needed for the job," Wharton, 53, said. "I hope the people of Delaware look at this as an issue of who is more qualified for the Attorney General's Office."

Biden, 37, said he is looking forward to "serious campaigning on the role of the attorney general in Delaware and on the issues that are important to Delawareans."

Wharton, of Wilmington, resigned from the U.S. Attorney's Office to join Fox, Rothschild, O'Brien & Frankel LLP's Wilmington office because federal law bars government employees from seeking elective office.

"It wasn't a hard decision," he said. "It's something I've been thinking about doing for a long time in the back of my mind. I just had to get my ducks in a row first."

State Democratic Chairman John Daniello said Wharton's decision to leave federal service and enter the race meant that state GOP Chairman Terry Strine "finally found a sugar daddy."

"You remember that Terry said he'd have to find [Wharton] a sugar daddy, in the sense of a place to land to get him to run. Well, I guess he did," Daniello said. "From all I hear he's a really good litigator. But that's only one-tenth of that job. ... I feel perfectly comfortable and confident in our candidate."

Wharton is hoping to frame the election around his strength as a litigator and his experience within the Attorney General's Office.

Wharton is best known for his roles in two high-profile cases -- the Thomas J. Capano murder trial, where he was co-prosecutor with now-U.S. Attorney Colm Connolly, and this year's mortgage fraud case against Sherry L. Freebery, New Castle County's former chief administrative officer. Capano was convicted in the murder case.

"I think Ferris is universally recognized as the most experienced prosecutor in Delaware," Connolly, a Republican, said Monday. "He has superb judgment and unparalleled knowledge of state criminal law. We will miss his maturity of judgment, and I will miss him personally."

Connolly said Assistant U.S. Attorney Leonard Stark, Wharton's co-counsel, will take over the prosecution of Freebery.

Former Superior Court Judge William Swain "Bill" Lee, who presided over the Capano murder case, said Wharton has a lot more than a few big-name cases going for him. Lee is a former GOP gubernatorial candidate and now Sussex County party chairman.

"Clearly, he is the most experienced person to run for attorney general in the history of the state," said Lee, who helped recruit Wharton for the race. "Not only does he have the prosecutorial experience, but he also was Jane's chief deputy. He knows the civil side and he knows how to run the office."

Wharton said courtroom experience is critical, even though the job may be mainly administrative.

"First and foremost, I think you need to be a good prosecutor to earn the respect of the people in the office and to lead that office," he said. "But I've led the rape unit, I've led the drug unit, and I've been chief prosecutor in Kent County and in New Castle County as well as being the chief deputy. So I understand that [administrative] side of the office, too."

Biden and Wharton both are first-time candidates, but Biden has experience in the statewide campaigns of his father, U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del. Lee said Wharton's powers of persuasion should not be taken lightly.

"It would be a mistake to underestimate Ferris' communications abilities because he's excellent in front of a jury," Lee said. "Quite frankly, it's been my experience that a candidate sells himself one person at a time, and I think those skills will come across either in a supermarket parking lot or in a stump speech."

Contact Patrick Jackson at 678-4274 orpjackson@delawareonline.com. Contact Sean O'Sullivan at 324-2777 or sosullivan@delawareonline.com.