Political Candidates Speak Out
Race for New York
Attorney General
Publisher’s Note: We sent out an e-mail asking the candidates for the major political races in November to share information about themselves, so our readers can get to know them a little better. We asked them:
A. Please tell us about yourself.
B. If you were elected to office, what are your top priorities and why?
We will run these answers over the next few weeks, in hopes this will help in your decision-making process on Tuesday, November 8. Please get out and vote!
Letitia James,
DEM, WFP
A: Born and raised in Brooklyn, I’ve spent my entire career working for the public good. I was the first woman of color to hold statewide office in New York, and the first woman to be elected New York Attorney General.
I’ve been a public defender, worked in Albany, and served on the New York City Council, where I passed legislation forcing landlords to improve living conditions in the city’s worst buildings, and helped to uncover the $600 million CityTime fraud, the biggest in city history. In 2013, I was elected Public Advocate for the City of New York, where I stood up for our most vulnerable communities and served as a watchdog over New York City government agencies. My leadership transformed the Public Advocate’s office into a formidable engine of change.
As Attorney General, I have taken on bad landlords, price gougers and predatory lenders. My office has taken down hundreds of drug, gun, and sex traffickers, and removed thousands of guns from our streets. I have also fought to protect reproductive rights by, among other things, co-leading a coalition of attorneys general in challenging states that are trying to restrict abortion access and launching a task force that provides New Yorkers and visitors with free legal information and resources about accessing abortion care. And I have sued Big Pharma opioid makers, winning up to $1.5 billion to invest in recovery and treatment efforts in New York, including up to $1 million to invest here in Otsego County.
B: I am running for re-election to finish the jobs that New Yorkers elected me to do: To hold the powerful accountable and make New York a more fair and just place for everyone.
If re-elected, I’ll continue to fight to make our communities safer and more just, taking deadly weapons off our streets and working to build bonds between the public and the police. I’ll continue to stand up for a woman’s right to choose and will fight regressive laws limiting reproductive health care. And I’ll continue holding the powerful accountable because no one is above the law.
Michael Henry,
REP, CON
A: I’m not a career politician. I am an attorney who wants to Save Our State. I own a New York City-based law firm which specializes in commercial litigation. My work has successfully recovered millions of dollars in assets for clients ranging from billion-dollar banks to small business owners.
B: I’m focused on the three C’s: Crime, Corruption and Cost-of-Living. New York is experiencing a crime crisis due to pro-criminal policies like bail reform, parole reform and more. We must restore public safety by repealing the bail reform law which has allowed violent and repeat offenders back on our streets. Rampant corruption also remains unchecked in Albany, and I intend to take it on. Finally, Cost-of-Living is out of control and this office can cut red tape to alleviate costs for small businesses.