The two candidates running to be the next Washington State Attorney General were on the set of The Impact for a panel interview this week. As an agency leader, the Attorney General directs a team of several hundred lawyers and has a broad and diverse set of responsibilities that include:
- Representing the state and its interests in court
- Defending state laws in legal challenges
- Providing legal opinions to state government officials, state agencies, and local prosecutors
- Enforcing the Consumer Protection Act
- Antitrust/Unfair Trade Practices litigation
- Pursuing involuntary commitment for sexually violent predators
- Writing ballot measure descriptions
- Advocating for the public in utility rate and energy siting decisions
- Occasionally prosecuting criminal cases upon request from a local prosecutor or the Governor.
Democratic candidate Nick Brown is a partner with the Pacific Law Group based in Seattle. He’s also the former US Attorney for Western Washington and the former general counsel for Governor Jay Inslee.
Republican candidate Pete Serrano is the Mayor of Pasco and the director and general counsel for the Silent Majority Foundation legal organization. He’s a former environmental lawyer for the U.S. Dept. of Energy at Hanford and a former attorney/project supervisor for Energy Northwest.
Outside of the campaign Brown and Serrano have squared off in court on opposite sides of litigation relating to state gun restrictions. During the interview, we cover a range of topics and hear what plans each candidate has for the Attorney General’s Office.
Brown – “Well, the core mission is to be the lawyer for the people of the state of Washington. And so, you know, not every state has a separately elected attorney general. Some are appointed by the governor or come into office through other means. But I fundamentally believe that the reason we have a separately elected AG is to fight for the people and to be the people’s advocate. So that is how I will orient the office and the plans moving forward. But the bulk of the work, the actual case work, is advising state, government and state agencies to make sure that they are operating at the highest level. I’ll bring my experience having led a large public law firm as the U.S. attorney and managed, a 80 some lawyers and a big staff for all of western Washington to bear to make sure that we’re providing the best legal services we can on behalf of the state of Washington and the AG should be a champion to advocate for better policy here in Washington and work collaboratively with the legislature.”
Serrano – “I’ll go back to the oath. The oath is to uphold the US Constitution and the Constitution and laws of Washington State. If we’re not focused on that . . we’re losing sight of the people, we’re losing sight of the purpose of the mission of the office. We’re advising these agencies, just willy nilly. What we need to do is bring it to a streamlined process. . . What I really look forward to doing is bringing my vision of what the Constitution reads, what the case law reads, what all of the attorneys in our office, you know, not all of them, but both sides of the coin – let’s meet in the middle. Let’s figure out what it is, when we’re advising these agencies, what is their statutory authority? What did the legislature grant them? Why are they as bloated as they are? We’ve seen this. The agency overreach is significant. It impacts you in every which way.”
On Public Safety:
Brown – “Top of mind for voters wherever I go across the state is how do we keep people safe? We have real problems with gun violence here in Washington, with the fentanyl crisis that’s really ravaging our communities, particularly young people. We have real problems of public safety. And safety also includes protecting people from discrimination and hate in their communities. And so making sure that we’re doing everything we can to use that office, working with local law enforcement in the community, working with the legislature, trying to find new and creative ways to take on some of these challenges. That’s going to be issue number one for me. There are big issues of protecting our democracy and our freedoms here in Washington.”
Serrano – “The fentanyl crisis out there, we do know that the AG has the opportunity to either sue organizations. We’ve seen Mr. Ferguson use the opioid crisis. He’s got some settlements where even in Pasco, we’ve received some funds where we’re able to provide treatment, opportunities. I think the AG has the opportunity to not only lead from the civil side that is recovering funds to bring it back to the communities that are disrupted through this, but he also has the opportunity to set the tone for prosecutions, whether it’s, telling the legislature, hey, you want to make this, decriminalize or a lower penalty? We can’t do that because it will harm our citizens. Working with the United States Attorney, working with local prosecutors and sheriffs and police chiefs to say, hey, look, I’ll prioritize making sure your agencies are supported. That’s what public safety means to me.”
On Consumer Protection:
Brown – “The AG’s office, I think, need to be used more aggressively to go after things like price fixing, because we’ve seen, consolidation in the housing market and national housing corporations taking advantage of people” to use the civil rights division to make sure housing is free from discrimination – whether you’re renting or buying — and to make sure that we’re protecting renters and tenants who don’t have as much power in these interactions and needs transactions.”
Serrano – “There are questions that we have to set forward with the insurance commissioner. Why is it that you’re being penalized for your neighbor’s car getting stolen? Why are your rates going up? You’re not having I’m not going to speak to your record, but I’m assuming you don’t have accidents. I’m not gotten tickets. I have not had accidents. Why are my rates going up? Why are the people of Washington being hosed by these outside entities, and we don’t have agencies or legislature standing for them? That’s what the attorney general does. He stands with the people and for the people.”