Photo by Liliang.

The District’s Attorney General, Peter Nickles, has drawn plenty of criticism for not being independent enough from the man who appointed him, Mayor Adrian Fenty. But just across the river, Virginians have had to deal with Ken Cuccinelli, the commonwealth’s elected attorney general whose aggressive stances against everything from climate change to health care reform to anti-gay discrimination to the state seal have made even Republican Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell slightly uncomfortable.

Just two weeks from now, D.C. voters will be asked to decide whether they’re rather maintain the status quo or elect the city’s top law enforcement official starting in 2014. In essence, they’ll have to decide if they’d rather have a Nickles or a Cuccinelli.

Currently, the District is in the distinct minority in how it selects its attorney general. Forty-three states leave it to the electorate, while five put it to the governor, one to the state supreme court and another to the legislature. At the start of the year, the D.C. Council, led by Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), worked to change that, passing legislation that would make the city’s attorney general an elected position and laying out the qualifications for the job. The legislation passed easily on a 12-1 vote, with only Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) opposing.