Wisconsin Attorney General candidate Jon Richards interview
http://bloggingblue.com/2014/01/jon-richards-the-blogging-blue-interview/
Our discussion of Richards’ candidacy began with the customary, “Why did you decide to run for Attorney General?” question. Richards answered that he decided to run for Attorney General because he believes, “Wisconsin needs a strong leader in the Attorney General’s office who can fight to keep us safe and also stand up for the values that have always made Wisconsin great, like equal protection under the law, protection for our environment, standing up for voting rights, and making sure that people have access to decent healthcare.”
Richards also said that it was his belief that over the past few years the Attorney General’s office has neglected or even fought against the values he cited, and he also offered Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen’s leading role in the fight to exempt the legislature from open meetings laws as proof. Richards was clear he values clean and open government, and he cited the fact that he drafted an amendment to the State Constitution to reverse that decision. “I want to make sure we apply all the laws equally and fairly, but especially laws that have to do with clean and open government,” Richards added.
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When asked what his top priority would be if elected Attorney General, Richards said public safety would be his top priority if elected, noting his track record of “getting things done” on the issue of public safety. To that end, Richards said he would work to ensure front line prosecutors have the resources they need to do their jobs, and he cited his long record as a legislator of working with prosecutors to give them the tools they need to keep our communities safe. As he continued, Richards also said he’d work as Attorney General to combat two epidemics in Wisconsin – heroin and human trafficking.
Another priority Richards said he’d focus on if elected Attorney General would be to keep guns out of the hands of those who shouldn’t have them. Richards noted he authored a bill in the legislature that would require background checks for all gun purchases, and he noted that such universal background checks are widely supported.
