President Obama today announced his intention to nominate Bismarck attorney Timothy Purdon to be U.S. Attorney for North Dakota.
Timothy Q. Purdon
Purdon is with the Vogel Law Firm in Bismarck. He also serves as the state’s Democratic National Committeeman. Read Purdon’s bio here.
Purdon has donated nearly $12,400 to North Dakota Democrats and national politicians and committees since 2000, including $2300 to Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, a North Dakota news Web site reported, citing Federal Election Commission records.
North Dakota’s retiring junior senator, Democrat Byron Dorgan, had repeatedly complained about the slow pace of the nominating process.
“I understand that nominations are tough sometimes. It requires vetting. They don’t get done as soon as they should – I understand all that,” Dorgan told Inforum, a news Web site based in Fargo, last year. “It just seems to me that the U.S. attorney’s position is a very important position, and we had expected this to be completed long before now.”
If confirmed, Purdon will replace Lynn C. Jordheim, who has been North Dakota’s acting U.S. Attorney since Sept. 13, following the resignation of Drew Wrigley, who had been the district’s head prosecutor since November 2001. Wrigley is now the vice president of the Fargo-based Noridian Administrative Services, which helps businesses with information management and customer service.
Among the others who were reportedly considered for the U.S. Attorney nomination:
- Jasper Schneider, a state representative and Fargo
- Bill Brudvik, a partner at Ohnstad Twichell Law Firm in Mayville, N.D., and candidate for state attorney general
- Janice Morley, an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Fargo
- Rebecca Thiem, an attorney with Zuger Kirmis & Smith in Bismarck
