A former assistant attorney general in Massachusetts is now running for the top job in the prosecutor’s office.
Quentin Palfrey, who served in both the Obama and Biden administrations and was the 2018 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in Massachusetts, has entered the race for attorney general.
It is a wide open contest now that Attorney General Maura Healey is running for governor.
The other two candidates in the Democratic race are workers’ rights attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan and Andrea Campbell, a former Boston City Councilor.
WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with Palfrey.
Quentin Palfrey
So as a former Assistant Attorney General, I've seen firsthand how much impact the office can have on the issues that matter the most. I had the honor to serve in the White House under President Barack Obama and under the Biden administration, I joined on day one, leading a team of lawyers to help launch the build back better initiative. But Congress has broken and for the leadership that we need on the issues that matter the most Massachusetts has to lead. Massachusetts AG office has been a terrific leader on so many issues that matter. The AG can bring consumer protection cases against predatory lenders, again, scammers and pharmaceutical companies can bring much needed urgency to the fight against the climate crisis and racial injustice, and to rebuild our democracy.
Paul Tuthill
Do you think most people are aware of what the attorney general does in Massachusetts, what the what the what the job description is, so to speak?
Quentin Palfrey
I think that the people, the people understand that the Ag can be the People's Lawyer. When I was in the ag office, one of the things I loved about it was I woke up every day feeling like we could do real work for people that had a real effect on their lives. I think people are familiar with the agency's role as consumer protection advocate, kid, someone who can stand up for workers rights and for civil rights, and can be a real voice on really big issues that matter, like the climate crisis and racial injustice and democracy.
Paul Tuthill
So what will your priorities be if you become Attorney General?
Quentin Palfrey
So I would be very focused on consumer protection workers rights that'd be focused on the climate crisis and rebuilding our democracy, be focused on the fight against racial injustice. But the Ag office touches on so many aspects of people's lives. And I think it's important to have an ag who has experience meeting large teams of government lawyers, because as the chief legal officer of the Commonwealth, the Ag needs to be well versed in a wide range of issues that affect people's lives.
Paul Tuthill
You're the third Democrat to to enter this race. What what do you think separates you from the other from the other two candidates?
Quentin Palfrey
So I was the 2018, Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in that race, I was able to build up a grassroots network across the state at one that statewide primary by 18 points. And I'd love to build a statewide campaign based on respecting and powering including people all across the state, I've had the chance to be exploring this campaign for about six months. And so we have a grassroots network of voters and supporters all around the state. And I hope to build off of that, to run a campaign that's focused on the issues that matter, most people and I think that my experience, as a former Assistant Attorney General, as a lawyer in the Obama and Biden administration, and founding and leading national voting rights nonprofit, will put me in a position to lead in that office on day one,
Paul Tuthill
I was going to say, as someone who does have experience running for running for statewide office was was nominated as as the as the number two on the ticket back in 2018. Do you think that does give you an edge, as we head into the into the caucus season now where delegates to the to the Democratic nominating convention will be picked?
Quentin Palfrey
I think it's certainly helpful to have a grassroots network of statewide supporters, I've been very honored to have support in all state senate districts across the Commonwealth or 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts, and I've had a chance to spend the last few years getting to know the issues that affect people not just in the greater Boston area. But all across the state. I've spent a lot of time in Western Massachusetts and in in all parts of the state. And I think that you know, all too often you'll be concealed, forgets how how big the state is, and what are the issues that affect folks in Western Mass. I'm somebody who grew up in Worcester County, we recognize the importance of making sure that Deacon Hill is there for the whole state and as an attorney general, that would be the approach that I would take, make sure that we're really present in the entire state and really listening to the concerns of the entire state.
Paul Tuthill
Is the Attorney General really a policy-setter though, is it an office where you can make an impact on policy?
Quentin Palfrey
Absolutely. I think that one of the wonderful things about the Attorney General's Office is their concrete opportunities to stand up for consumers and workers and civil rights. But there's also a huge opportunity to be a voice on Beacon Hill to be a voice nationally for the issues that mattered the most. I think that the Ag should be a leader in demanding urgent action on the climate crisis on consumer protection and racial justice on our democracy. And I think that's a really important role that Maura Healey has played, using the office to fight back against a corrupt and immoral Trump administration banding with other states to fight back against Wall Street and insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies. And I think it's important for us to have a bold vision for what the Ag can do, but also to be really focused on the issues that consumers and workers and ordinary citizens bring to the office every day.
Paul Tuthill
Would prosecuting political corruption be something that is high on your agenda? That was one criticism of the current attorney general that her office did not bring any political corruption prosecutions. It was left primarily to the US Attorney.
Quentin Palfrey
So I think that Maura Healey has been an incredible ag and I want to build on her legacy in the area of oversight and accountability. I do think that the AG has a really important role to play. I think that we're in a time when people have lost faith in their government. And I think it's really important for the Ag to make sure that the people who are serving us are doing that in good faith. I think we need to oversee agencies like the state police, I think that we need to oversee the behavior of people at the local level and also candidates running for office. I think restoring public faith in the trust that we give to public officials is really important role. I when I when I joined the Biden administration on day one, as the acting general counsel of the Commerce Department, I inherited a lot of the masses that Trump appointees corrupt Trump appointees had been responsible for within the Commerce Department. And I have recent experience, trying to clean up some of those messes making sure that we are holding people to account when they don't serve in the public interest.
Paul Tuthill
And so and so as we begin as you begin your campaign, what's the what's your strategy now for, for going forward and winning the nomination?
Quentin Palfrey
So we're going to build off of the grassroots network that I built in 2018, as the Democratic nominee through lieutenant governor, we have a great network of supporters across the state and I want to run the kind of campaign that respects and empowers and includes people all across the Commonwealth. And so my strategy is to go out there to all parts of the state, be really present in Western Mass and, and make the case to voters that the kind of experience I bring as a former Assistant Attorney General and as a leader in the Obama and Biden administration's will put me in a position to lead that office and help serve those communities in the years to come as AG.