To the editor:

The controversy over the participation of the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia, led by Ken Cuccinelli, in mineral rights cases has once again spilled into an ugly attack ad.

But this issue, like so many others in this gubernatorial campaign, comes down to one simple question: Which candidate can you trust?

Terry McAuliffe has found a couple of sympathetic landowners willing to go in front of the cameras and place the blame on Cuccinelli for the delays in receiving their payments. But McAuliffe’s escapades with visa-for-sale schemes, phantom jobs, and leading on government authorities with GreenTech and Franklin Pellets demonstrate that he will use anyone in any way — and stretch the truth in every direction — for his political and financial purposes. (Not to mention his role in putting the Lincoln Bedroom on sale for campaign contributions during the Clinton administration.)

Meanwhile, Cuccinelli’s entire career has been about putting the interests of Virginians first, and he says that is exactly what he has been doing in working to protect the law that preserves the rights of mineral rights owners.

Who has earned the benefit of the doubt — the slick Mr. McAuliffe or the earnest and honest Mr. Cuccinelli?

– Rosalyn Bellis
Alexandria