Senate Judiciary Committee forwards Steven Cox nomination after heated confirmation hearing

Steven Cox, the governor's nominee for Alaska attorney general, won a committee recommendation to advance to a joint session following a confirmation hearing on May 1 before the Alaska Senate Judiciary Committee.

Cox, who introduced himself and members of his family at the hearing, framed his tenure so far around the rule of law and cross-jurisdictional coordination. "This job is about the rule of law, what the law requires, how it is applied, and how we exercise the state's power within those limits," he told the committee, outlining priorities that include quality-of-life crime responses in Anchorage, domestic violence and sexual-assault prosecutions, and stepped-up consumer-protection enforcement.

The hearing revealed sharp divisions. Former Attorney General Bruce Botello testified in opposition, saying the office "must be the state's chief legal officer, not its chief cultural warrior" and criticizing Cox for relitigating the Katie John line of cases and for what Botello described as "ideological" multistate amicus activity. "Based on his record of office up to now, I don't believe that Mister Cox's conduct meets…