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ANCHORAGE - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Thursday picked a colorful Anchorage attorney with a reputation for promoting gun rights to be her new state attorney general.

Palin named Wayne Anthony Ross, a current director and former vice president of the National Rifle Association and a two-time candidate for governor who once got fundraising help from rocker Ted Nugent.

"He brings years of good service, in more ways than one," Palin said.

Ross and former Gov. Walter Hickel served as campaign co-chairmen for Palin in her successful 2006 bid for governor. As a lawyer, Ross represented Palin before she was governor as she was blowing the whistle on ethics violations by Alaska GOP chairman Randy Ruedrich, a fellow member of the state Oil and Gas Commission.

Ross said he was grateful for the new job.

"Forty-two years ago, a woman expressed the confidence in me and agreed to be my wife," he said, acknowledging his wife, Barbara. "Now I have another fine lady expressing confidence in me and I sure appreciate it," he said.

Ross replaces Talis Colberg, who resigned Feb. 10 amid what Palin called a "harsh political climate."

Colberg was a central figure in "Troopergate," the Alaska Legislature's investigation into whether Palin or aides had pressured her public safety commissioner to fire a state trooper involved in a contentious divorce and custody battle with Palin's sister. Former Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan refused to fire the officer. Palin fired Monegan and said he was ousted over budget disagreements.

Colberg filed a lawsuit on behalf of seven state workers challenging legislative subpoenas. A judge rejected the lawsuit and the employees later testified.

Ross on Thursday chose not to say what he might have done in Colberg's shoes, calling it a speculative question. He did acknowledge that he has a different temperament than the low-key Colberg.

"I've been known to speak my mind from time to time," Ross said.

As a Republican gubernatorial hopeful in 1998, Ross warned that the man eventually nominated, John Lindauer, would be questioned closely about his sketchy finances and business background.

"My exact quote was ... that if they nominated John Lindauer, the press would open a can of stomp-ass on his head. And that's just what happened," Ross said before the general election that year.

As a long-shot candidate for governor again in 2002, the folksy Ross lost in the Republican primary to U.S. Sen. Frank Murkowski but often won the battle of quips. At a fisheries debate in Kodiak, Ross laid claim as the most conservative candidate among five Republicans.

Discussing differences between federal and state law regarding subsistence hunting and fishing rights for Alaska's rural residents, Ross said he would hire a band of "junkyard dog" assistant attorney generals to challenge the federal law that requires a subsistence preference, or seek changes through Congress.

Nugent, a fellow NRA board member in August 2002, played the Alaska State Fair and joined Ross a day later at a gun show and fundraiser. Ross said Thursday his stance on gun rights was the same as Palin's and the same as the U.S. Constitution's. He also said it likely would not take prominence in a gun-loving state like Alaska.

Ross has never feared taking on unpopular clients.

In July 2003, he represented a Soldotna man accused of twice dousing peace demonstrators with water from his pickup while his son was serving in Iraq. The protesters, mostly middle-age men and women, had been staging a silent demonstration with signs for an hour every evening at a busy intersection. Ross' client was convicted of harassment and violating constitutional rights and was sentenced to 320 hours of community service.

Ross faces confirmation hearings and a vote by the Legislature.

Sen. Charlie Huggins, R-Wasilla, said Ross is a good friend with strong community values.

"He's highly motivated at whatever task he takes on so I wish him well, and the governor certainly deserves her choice," Huggins said.

Rep. Mike Doogan, D-Anchorage, expects the Legislature will follow the tradition of allowing the governor to appoint the people she wants.

Doogan said though he and Ross share little in common politically, "he's a person with whom I can disagree without either of us being particularly disagreeable."