By
The Associated Press
PHOENIX - Maricopa County Attorney Richard Romley reportedly is under consideration to become the White House drug czar, succeeding Barry McCaffrey.
The job opened early in January when McCaffrey stepped down after five years as head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Barnett Lotstein, Romley's special assistant, told The Arizona Republic on Monday that "we understand Mr. Romley is being considered."
"It's an honor," Lotstein said, adding that Romley hadn't been asked to undergo an interview so far.
Romley, a Republican who has been county attorney for 12 years, declined to comment.
The Cabinet-level office spends nearly $500 million a year on drug treatment and enforcement. It also coordinates $19 billion of federal-agency and military campaigns against drug smuggling and money laundering.
The National Association of Counties endorsed Romley for the post shortly after Bush's inauguration, County Supervisor Don Stapley said.
The head of the board, Jan Brewer, added that Romley "certainly is capable of doing the job."
The Board of Supervisors would name a replacement if Romley resigns.
Romley, a Tucson native and former Marine wounded in Vietnam, has been at the forefront of a crackdown on slumlords in metro Phoenix. He also has testified before Congress about the county's diversion program under which drug charges are lifted for those who complete court-ordered treatment.
However, he has opposed Arizona's "medical marijuana" law, calling it merely a move to legalize marijuana that has little to do with any medicinal need.
He supported going statewide with a juvenile gun control law that was overturned because it applied only in Arizona's two largest counties.
He also supported trying as adults students who threaten violence at schools and pressed earlier for a law making automatic trial as an adult for teens accused of the most violent crimes, such as murder.
