KOIN 6 News contacted candidates who are running for Oregon attorney general in 2024, asking them to respond to these questions:
- Why are you running for Attorney General?
- What is your previous government/civic experience?
- If elected, what would be your top priorities as attorney general?
- What is going right in the Attorney General’s office? How would you build on it?
- Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade in 2022, the Oregon Department of Justice launched the Oregon Reproductive Rights Hotline and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum led a multistate lawsuit with Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson – securing an injunction to preserve access to the abortion medication mifepristone. If elected, how will your office work on these issues?”
- In 2023, the Oregon DOJ convened a group of law enforcement members, health care providers, and lawmakers to discuss ways to address the state’s fentanyl crisis. If elected, how will you address the fentanyl/substance abuse crises?
Will Lathrop is running as a Republican. Here are his responses:
Why are you running for Attorney General?
It’s no secret that Oregon has a crime problem and people across the State don’t feel safe. I am a dedicated public servant, experienced prosecutor, and victims advocate. For the past twenty years, I’ve devoted my career to protecting the world’s most vulnerable populations from violence, exploitation, and abuse. It’s been painful for me to watch the state that I love suffer. Oregon’s politicians have failed to keep our communities safe and have embraced leadership with a partisan lens, rather than a servant heart. Oregon is a wounded beauty – a beautiful state marred by crime and addiction. I represent a dawn of new leadership focused on protecting people and solving problems, not radical partisan politics.
What is your previous government/civic experience?
My career began in Oregon where I served as a deputy district attorney, specializing in prosecuting child sex abuse cases. While my focus was on protecting children, I also prosecuted cases of adult sexual assault, domestic violence, homicide, drug trafficking, and human trafficking. Transitioning to the national level, I was hired to work on victim protection at the National District Attorneys Association.
Shortly thereafter, I assumed a leadership position with a global human rights organization. In this role, I gained extensive executive leadership experience. In close collaboration with international agencies and governments, I led large multinational teams dedicated to protecting vulnerable populations from violence, human trafficking, and forced labor in Northern Uganda and in Ghana.
No other candidate has the necessary experience and expertise to drive the change that Oregon desperately needs. My extensive law enforcement experience, executive leadership skills, and proven commitment to protecting vulnerable groups make me uniquely qualified for this role.
If elected, what would be your top priorities as attorney general?
1. Reduce the prevalence of drugs in our communities and hold drug traffickers accountable. Nobody in Oregon should be making millions of dollars by exploiting those suffering from addiction, crushing families, and devastating communities. The prevalence of fentanyl and dangerous drugs in our state have left a growing population in Oregon vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. As Oregon’s next Attorney General, I will work collaboratively across jurisdictions to drive the supply of fentanyl and other dangerous drugs out of our state.
2. Restore safe communities and support law enforcement. It’s no secret that Oregon is suffering under a cloud of crime and people don’t feel safe in their own communities. I’ve dedicated my career to protecting children and those living on the margins from violence, exploitation, and abuse. Oregon’s politicians have defunded and stripped law enforcement of the tools that allow them to keep our communities safe. As Oregon’s next Attorney General, I will rebuild the Criminal Justice Division at the Department of Justice and will draw from my experience to work collaboratively with state, local, and federal law enforcement to keep our communities safe.
3. Restore trust in government and enforce Oregon’s corruption laws. Oregon has fallen into a pattern of allocating large amounts of tax-payer funds towards solving problems without accountability. As Oregon’s next Attorney General, I will enforce a zero-tolerance policy for misuse of public office and misuse of public funds.
What is going right in the Attorney General’s office? How would you build on it?
Oregon has strong consumer protection laws that are designed to create a level playing field and healthy competition among Oregon businesses while protecting Oregon consumers from bad actors. The current administration has successfully held large corporations accountable. However, I believe the current administration has over-emphasized targeting large corporations to produce catchy headlines. As Oregon’s next Attorney general, I will focus on equal enforcement of the law and will hold all bad actors accountable. Equal enforcement of Oregon’s consumer protection laws is essential for a healthy and free economy, and protects consumers.
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade in 2022, the Oregon Department of Justice launched the Oregon Reproductive Rights Hotline and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum led a multi-state lawsuit with Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson – securing an injunction to preserve access to the abortion medication mifepristone. If elected, how will your office work on these issues?”
Currently, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum mentions on the Oregon Department of Justice website, “The Dobbs case (which overturned Roe v. Wade) did not change any Oregon laws protecting a person’s right to obtain an abortion in Oregon. For example, in Oregon there are no gestational limits, no waiting periods, and medication abortion (abortion pills) can be accessed by mail. Immigration status or ability to pay does not prevent someone from accessing abortion in Oregon.” In 2024, abortion law remains well settled and universally permissive, and accessible, in Oregon. When elected, I will diligently enforce Oregon’s laws. It is hard to say what calamity or unexpected ruling might come in the future, but it is clear that the emergency of today is crime, addiction, and lawlessness. Oregonians do not feel safe and that reality is paralyzing progress across every sector. As Oregon’s next preeminent law enforcement officer, I have earned an excellent reputation of equitably enforcing the law and I have the expertise to rebuild our criminal justice system. I will lead Oregon out of this public safety crisis and return our state back to being a national leader in protecting victims and enforcing the law.
In 2023, the Oregon DOJ convened a group of law enforcement members, health care providers, and lawmakers to discuss ways to address the state’s fentanyl crisis. If elected, how will you address the fentanyl/substance abuse crises?
My top priority as Oregon’s next Attorney General will be to reduce the supply of fentanyl and prevalence of drug trafficking in our state. By statute, the Attorney General is charged with running point on statewide investigations into organized crime in Oregon, which includes drug trafficking, human trafficking, organized retail theft, online exploitation of children, racketeering, money laundering, etc. The Department of Justice should build a collective strategy for law enforcement across the state and collaborate with federal and international law enforcement agencies to reduce the inflow of drugs into Oregon. The Oregon Department of Justice has largely failed in that capacity over the last decade. I have extensive experience leading collaborative efforts between different agencies and governments to combat international crime. I am uniquely qualified to lead a collaborative, multi-state effort to reduce the supply of illegal drugs flowing into Oregon and to hold drug traffickers accountable.
