DAGA Download – June 4
June 4, 2021
ON THE TRAIL
VA ENDORSEMENT CORNER
The Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters (EASRCC) endorsed Virginia AG Mark Herring’s re-election campaign. The EASRCC is a union of carpenters who seek to establish equality between employers and skilled workers in the carpentry industry. The Council said, “Attorney General Mark Herring has been making important progress on combatting wage theft and worker misclassification in the Commonwealth of Virginia.” In response to EASRCC’s support, AG Herring stated, “the work we do to establish protections for workers wouldn’t be possible without the support of dynamic unions like EASRCC… I’m proud to have their support in this fight.” Read the full endorsement here.
UPDATE: TX AG GOP PRIMARY
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced his Republican candidacy for the 2022 Texas Attorney General race. This announcement sparks turmoil within the Texas Republican party, as Bush takes on indicted Republican incumbent AG Ken Paxton. With AG Paxton’s recent fraud indictment and ongoing FBI investigation, Bush did not hesitate in his announcement to question the incumbent’s ability and integrity. In fact, he proclaimed, “Enough is enough, Ken. You’ve brought way too much scandal and too little integrity to this office… It’s time to go.” Both zealous supporters of former President Trump, Bush and AG Paxton now await the announcement of who Trump will endorse in this election. Read more here.
ON AIR
- Virginia AG Mark Herring‘s campaign launched a new campaign video heading into the final week of the primary campaign.
MULTISTATE MOMENTS
DEM AG WIN IN BIDEN ADMIN
Nine months ago, 15 Democratic AGs sued the Trump administration over its plan to establish oil drilling leases in the Alaskan Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and for the administration’s failure to consider the “devastating environmental impacts” of the drilling plan. On Tuesday, those same 15 Democratic AGs and environmentalists across the country celebrated a victory as the Biden-Harris Administration suspended oil drilling leases in ANWR. During this suspension, the Department of the Interior will conduct an environmental analysis and legal review of the impact and implementation of these leases. Read more here.
CHAMPIONING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Connecticut AG William Tong joined a coalition of nine Democratic AGs urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to “tighten climate and environmental justice scrutiny for new gas pipelines.” According to AG Tong, “no new natural gas pipelines should be authorized without thorough, science-driven scrutiny of the impact to our climate and environmental justice. We cannot continue to ignore the disproportionate price paid by disadvantaged communities due to pollution from fossil fuels.” Each of these Dem AGs called on FERC to take responsibility and do more to be an ally in meeting the goals of their states regarding environmental justice. Read more about this coalition here.
AG SPOTLIGHT
BAY STATE PIONEER
As we kick-off Pride Month, commemorating the Stonewall riots and continuing the fight for equality for the LGBTQ+ community, it is important to recognize the history DAGA Co-Chair Massachusetts AG Maura Healey made as the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to the Office of State Attorney General. Recognizing this impact, AG Healey explained to CBS News that “seeing is believing. The way that we actually develop the most informed laws and policies and regulations for our government, whether it is the local, state or federal level, is by having a government that truly reflects the people that it is there to serve.” Read more here.
RIGHTING WRONGS
The Michigan Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU), established by Michigan AG Dana Nessel, recently exonerated its first person – Gilbert Lee Poole Jr., a man wrongly convicted of murder in 1989. AG Nessel explained that the unit allows state leadership to learn from and “do something” about the past mistakes of the state’s prosecution. AG Nessel acknowledged that while one can’t give someone back 30 years of their life, her unit can “identify what went wrong…to make sure it never happens again.” Read more about the Conviction Integrity Unity of Michigan here.
BONUS: AG Nessel held a “first-of-its-kind” Expungement Fair to help applicants process their petitions and put people first.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Michigan AG Dana Nessel, the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to statewide office in Michigan, and State Senator Jeremy Allen Moss celebrate Pride Month by explaining what it means to them and encouraging active inclusion of others.
GRAPHIC OF THE WEEK
June marks Gun Violence Awareness month and this week is #WearOrange weekend. Democratic AGs continue to be fierce champions for addressing gun violence, and kicked off this month of awareness with a livestream conversation with March for Our Lives (watch here), and participated in the #WearOrange social media takeover organized by Everytown and Moms Demand.
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro talked to CNN’s Erin Burnett about the continued attacks on democracy and our country’s democratic institutions, and the importance of holding bad actors accountable.
