WASHINGTON, DC – Democratic nominee Jay Jones has been campaigning across Virginia to become the Commonwealth’s next attorney general. In recent weeks, Jones has made headlines outlining his plans to combat the fentanyl crisis, keep kids safe online, and end gun violence in Virginia. 

In Richmond last week, Jones released a plan to fight the fentanyl crisis. As reported by the Virginia Mercury, “…Jones plans to create a Drug Trafficking Unit within the attorney general’s office to enhance information-sharing, coordination and investigative support for local law enforcement and commonwealth’s attorney’s offices.” 

Key highlights from the Virginia Mercury:  

• “‘We know that there are ways to use the justice system to hold people accountable, but we also know that we can’t lock ourselves up to get out of this problem,’ Jones said. ‘So we are trying to add what’s currently missing, and that’s this trafficking unit.’”
• “Jones also sees a route to prevention by partnering with the Virginia Department of Education and local school divisions for education initiatives on counterfeit pills and online sales.”
• “His prior experience serving on Virginia’s Opioid Abatement Authority gave him more direct insight into how the funds distributed from settlements with pharmaceutical companies get to work, he said. As the state’s top lawyer, he would continue to support efforts for the Authority to support recovery programs.”
• “Jones suggested expanding specialty court programs so that offenders are more likely to be paired with treatment services.”
• “…Jones would support laws that raise penalties for fentanyl-related money laundering and go after social media and payment platforms that facilitate illicit drug transactions. Jones would seek to strengthen partnerships with neighboring states to help continue cracking down on trafficking across state lines.”
• “Jones noted that solving the decades-spanning problem requires ‘an all hands-on deck approach.’”

In Roanoke, Jones met with city officials, law enforcement, and faith leaders to learn more about their gun violence prevention efforts. Jones told WFIR News, “We’re seeing the community, elected officials, organizations come together, where the left hand really does know what the right hand is doing… We can make a real dent in… gun violence if we can keep our eyes on the ball and rope… those resources into one basket.”  

And in Arlington, Jones sat down with parents and students to discuss his online safety plan, which details how he’ll protect Virginia’s children online by holding unscrupulous tech companies accountable and protecting kids from online exploitation. 

 Jones also sat down with Virginia Public Media to discuss what his efforts will look like once elected to the attorney general’s office. 

“We need an attorney general who’s going to step up and fight for Virginia to put us first — not the President — in these very challenging times where the excess and overreach that’s coming out of Washington is harming Virginians, our livelihoods, our pocketbooks, so many facets of our life, and our attorney general has failed to step up and protect us,” Jones told VPM. “I will do that, and that’s why I’m asking for people’s vote starting Sept. 19.” 

Key highlights from Virginia Public Media: 

• On his plan to make Virginia more affordable, Jones said “We’re excited to use the Virginia Consumer Protection Act at our disposal. We want to deploy resources in the office to meet the challenges of this particular moment.…I look forward to working with the Democratic General Assembly come January to expand our authority so that we can attack these problems and bring relief to families across Virginia who have been desperate for some action over these last eight-and-a-half months.”
• “As we have moved around this commonwealth, affordability is what you hear about time and time again. People are being squeezed. It is hard for families to put food on the table. Costs continue to rise. Housing affordability continues to be a problem. We want to use every tool in our toolbox to make sure that we’re attacking that problem head-on.”
• Of his public safety plan, Jones said, “How we deploy our resources is a reflection of our values, and we want to make sure we’re putting all of the effort and energy we can into this public safety plan, which we developed with state and local law enforcement, community-interested leaders and folks who really care about making sure that we’re achieving these goals. I can’t wait to work with them come January to make that a reality.”
• Jones expanded on previous comments made that he would hold the Trump administration accountable for his illegal attacks on the commonwealth: “We will join other lawsuits on day one to avail ourselves of those protections…We can’t have these policies harming Virginia. We’ve got to step up and protect our assets, our resources, our people and their bottom lines and their livelihoods. We’ll also sue the administration whenever there’s excess and overreach.”
• “That is the job of the attorney general: to protect people in Virginia. We can’t let Washington run all over us. We can’t let them do these things at our expense. Jason Miyares has had every opportunity to demonstrate to people that he works for us and not for Donald Trump, and he doesn’t have much to show for himself.”
• “I think people are really desperate for leadership. They’re desperate for someone who’s going to put Virginia first, and that’s why I think we’re going to be successful in this election and finally get Virginia back on track — away from these dangerous and reckless policies that are harming people all across the commonwealth.”
• Finally, Jones spoke to why this election is an important one for voters to partake in: “It’s about letting Washington come in and tell us what to do or fighting for Virginia, putting us first and protecting our rights, our values, our freedoms. That is the choice before you. I don’t work for Donald Trump. I don’t work for Washington. I work for the people of Virginia, and that’s why we need an attorney general who’s going to put us first. I will do that.” 

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