Attorney general candidates far apart

Either Tong, Hatfield win would mark milestone for state

During the final debate this week between candidates for state attorney general, the contenders were asked a question that defines the race: How would they decide whether to join other attorneys general in filing multi-state lawsuits against businesses and the federal government?

The answers given by Republican Susan Hatfield and Democrat William Tong marked a pronounced — and sometimes bitter — divide in each candidate’s proposed approach to the job.

Hatfield, a state prosecutor from Pomfret who served as a delegate for President Donald Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention, said she would decide on a caseby-case basis while weighing what would be in the best interests of Connecticut’s residents.

“I will listen to my constituents and follow the law,” Hatfield said. “I believe that the law will be my guide, as opposed to politics.”

Hatfield said Tong would “file suit after suit regardless of what the issue is.”

Tong said he would defend the state against the Trump administration’s attacks on the Affordable Care Act, clean air and water, immigrants and, most recently, birthright citizenship granted under the 14th Amendment.

“And if standing up to the president of the United States is being political, then it is what is, because I’ll stand up to Donald Trump every time,” Tong declared.

Despite that fundamental difference, both Hatfield and Tong would help Connecticut reach a milestone — as voters prepare to elect either the state’s first female attorney general or the first Asian-American to hold constitutional office.

Peter Goselin, an attorney and Green Party candidate, is also running for the seat.

In the weeks running up to the midterm elections, Democrats across the country have used Trump as a means to ignite their base to vote in the midterm elections.

The race between Tong and Hatfield has become a prime example of that, as the candidates have battled about whether Trump is relevant to the work of the state’s top law enforcement officer and the legitimacy of being an activist attorney general.

Incumbent not running

Connecticut is one of 12 states where the incumbent isn’t running for re-election on Nov. 6, according to the National Association of Attorneys General. Republicans control 27 attorney general offices, while Democrats control 22 (one is an independent).

Connecticut’s attorney general, unlike those of other states, deals only with civil litigation issues and has virtually no criminal jurisdiction. Attorney General George Jepsen said he can only remember one criminal case that came to his attention during his eight-year tenure.

Jepsen, a Democrat who is not seeking re-election, has sued the Trump administration 29 times, filed 38 amicus briefs, and signed two dozen letters opposing administration policies weakening air-pollution standards and consumer protections, banning travel from Muslim countries, and defunding Planned Parenthood.

Tong, a state representative from Stamford, is unapologetic about his criticism of Trump and his plans to challenge him with lawsuits. The 45-year-old Democrat said his background as a son of Chinese immigrants has made it easy for him to promise to be an aggressive counterweight to the Trump administration.

Tong said some of his first priorities would be to join Democratic attorneys general in fighting a Texas lawsuit led by their Republican counterparts seeking to strike down the Affordable Care Act, addressing Connecticut’s crumbling foundations issue by taking on the insurance companies, and creating a civil rights division within the attorney general’s office.

The Democrat said his experience as an attorney working with civil litigation makes him the most suitable candidate for the seat. Tong said the cases handled by the attorney general are all “major, large scale, major exposure, big dollars, civil litigation, which most often, like big tobacco, ends in settlement, not in trial to verdict.”

He said the attorney general would be in the position to protect and defend Connecticut’s prerogative as a state to have some of the strongest gun laws in the nation.

Despite his opponent’s persistent needling, Tong does not have qualms about Hatfield’s criticism that he would be an activist attorney general.

“And my response to Sue is you’re damn right I will be,” Tong said. “I’ve always been activist in the legislature and I’m going to be activist as an attorney general because that’s what you need right now.”

Hatfield, who once worked in Washington as a young policy aide to former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, boarded a black bus outfitted with her campaign decals last week to meet voters in the four corners of the state.

The endorsed Republican candidate is on leave from her job as a state prosecutor during the campaign season. Hatfield touts her job as making her more qualified for the position, namely because — unlike her opponent — she has tried cases to verdict.

‘Very different’

Hatfield said she also stands apart from Tong because he would cut off communication with the Trump administration and has stated he would act as a firewall against its policies.

“I am very different and I believe in a bipartisan approach,” Hatfield said, adding that although there will be “issues that come out of Washington that I will push back upon,” there will also be times when she will work with the Trump administration on issues that will benefit Connecticut.

Hatfield was resistant when asked about Trump, stating “he is not relevant in this election today.”

Hatfield said one of her top priorities would be to make Connecticut more business friendly. She said that will involve assigning a team of lawyers to go through the state’s regulations and tax codes to assess what is impeding business growth.

Hatfield said her other priorities will involve initiating an investigation into crumbling foundations to determine “who knew what when,” tackling the opioid crisis, and human trafficking.

Hatfield received the endorsement of the state’s largest gun owners’ group, the Connecticut Citizens Defense League, only to lose it after she expressed her opposition to 3D-printed firearms. She has said she remains a strong supporter of the Second Amendment.

Hatfield has worked as a registered nurse and, like Tong, believes people with pre-existing conditions should be covered by health insurance. But the Republican did not specify if she would join the Texas lawsuit and said she has not read the case yet.

“I would need to look at the pleadings, look at what stage it is, so that is something I would consider,” Hatfield said.

Reporter Mark Pazniokas contributed to this story. Clarice Silber is a reporter for The Connecticut Mirror (www. ctmirror.org). Copyright 2018 © The Connecticut Mirror. csilber@ctmirror.org