Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter, who focused on consumer protection and championed the state’s Do-Not-Call list during two terms in office, said Sunday that he would not seek re-election this year.”We have achieved a lot, but I think we can achieve things outside government,” Carter, 54, said at a news conference in his office. His term expires early next year.

Mutz, Carter’s mentor in public service and his campaign chairman, praised his integrity and commitment to service.

“There’s no one in my business or political experience who has been more loyal and more steadfast and who has brought so much talent to the work he does,” Mutz said.

Carter, a Lafayette native who grew up on his family’s farm in southern Lake County, and his wife, Marilyn, have two teenage girls and a 12-year-old son. Carter said money wasn’t the determining factor in his decision, but Mutz said financialconsiderations might have played a part.

State payroll records from last year show Carter’s base salary at $79,400. A living allowance of about $12,000 pushed that to $91,400, and this year he will make about $95,000 — far less than attorneys with similar responsibilities can expect to make in the private sector.

The Republican, a former top aide to then-Lt. Gov. John Mutz and former corporation counsel to Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith, was re-elected in 2004 with 1.4 million votes — the most ever for a candidate in state government. He previously served as president of the National Association of Attorneys General and now chairs a group of prosecutors and state attorneys general advising the U.S. attorney general on criminal justice.

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