CENTRE — Alabama attorney general candidate Michel Nicrosi was in Cherokee County today to visit with local Democratic leaders. Before her noon luncheon at the group’s headquarters on Main Street, Nicrosi stopped by The Post to talk about her somewhat unique perspective on politics. 

“I am a prosecutor,” Nicrosi said. “My opponents are politicians. They have run political campaigns before. I am the only professional prosecutor in this race. I prosecute criminals.” 

Nicrosi, a Montgomery native and the first woman to ever run for attorney general of Alabama, said it is past time for politics to stop playing a role in the state’s highest law enforcement office. 

“It’s time to govern by the law, not by the press conference,” she said. “What we need is a new sheriff, and that’s why I am running.” 

Nicrosi said the ongoing bingo battle is becoming a burden on everyone in the state. 

“Bingo has monopolized everyone’s attention,” she said. “And as long as the law remains unclear, it will continue to do so. In the meantime, crime and corruption are on the rise.” 

Nicrosi said she feels strongly that PAC-to-PAC transfers, a longtime common practice among lawmakers in Montgomery, have fostered an atmosphere of corruption in Alabama. 

“They need to be eliminated,” she said. 

Nicrosi said she has traveled extensively in north Alabama since announcing her candidacy, and sees the need for more focused and supportive law enforcement. 

“Methamphetamine and illegal immigration are problems in rural counties,” Nicrosi said. “And fighting those problems requires cooperation at all levels of law enforcement. We have got to work together, and use our resources wisely.” 

She added: “I think I bring an ability to do that because, again, I am a prosecutor and not a politician. You don’t suddenly become able to do this job just because you raise your hand and swear an oath.” 

Nicrosi’s father was a longtime successful businessman in Montgomery and decorated Marine veteran of the Korean conflict. Her mother once served as a trustee at Birmingham Southern College and today works for the Alabama Senate. 

Nicrosi graduated magna cum laude from the University of Alabama in 1986 and received her law degree from the University Alabama School of Law. After graduating and then taking a job with the United States Department of Justice in Washington, Nicrosi returned to Alabama in 1995. 

She served as assistant United States attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, and was promoted to chief of the Criminal Division in 1997. For the past three years, Nicrosi has been in private practice at the Mobile law firm of Jones Walker.

She has taken a leave of absence to run for attorney general. 

Nicrosi is a member of the Trinity Episcopal Church in Mobile, where she serves as the parish’s senior warden. She is married to Ben Harris III. They and their young son, Ben, live in Daphne. 

Cited by the online blog Doc’s Political Parlor as the Democrat with “the most general election appeal,” Necrosi is up against James Anderson and Giles Perkins in the June 1 primary.

To visit Nicrosi’s website, go to www.michel2010.com.