Liberal lion in AG bid
Vullo was tough on banks as state watchdog
She’s running!
Maria Vullo, the former head of the state’s Financial Services Department and an outspoken pro-choice advocate, plans to formally announce Thursday that she’s running for New York State attorney general.
Vullo (photo), a native of Brooklyn who now lives in Manhattan, served as executive deputy attorney general under Andrew Cuomo when he was AG. In 2016, she became Financial Services superintendent under Cuomo when he was governor.
She left that post in 2019 — two years before Cuomo resigned as governor amid sexual harassment allegations.
In her role at Financial Services — and in response to former President Donald Trump’s efforts to repeal Obamacare — Vullo prohibited insurance companies from discriminating against patients with pre-existing conditions and mandated insurance coverage for abortions and contraceptives without requiring co-pays. She also put into place cybersecurity safeguard requirements in New York State that were later adopted in several other states.
On Wednesday, Vullo told the Daily News that if elected to the state’s top law enforcement position she would aim to serve as a staunch advocate for women’s rights, racial justice and economic justice.
“New Yorkers need an attorney general that has the experience that I have,” she said. “For 30 years, I have taken on big fights. I’ve won them for other people. I’ve done that my entire career. That’s the type of attorney general that New Yorkers need no matter what the fight is.”
In her run for AG, Vullo will face Dan Goldman, a former assistant U.S. Attorney who oversaw the impeachment probe into former President Donald Trump; Zephyr Teachout, a Fordham University law professor; and State Sen. Shelley Mayer (D-Westchester). Vullo is also a law professor at Fordham.
State Sen. Mike Gianaris (D-Queens), Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez and Queens DA Melinda Katz are also considering runs for the job.
During her time helming the Financial Services Department, Vullo recovered $3 billion for the state and $400 million for consumers through settlements with big banks, insurance companies and what she described as “scammers” — entities like payday lenders, debt collectors and data-privacy violators.
As a private lawyer, she helped win $745 million in damages for survivors of sexual assault, rape and genocide.
“Pro-bono,” she noted. “I didn’t get paid.”
Vullo has served as chairwoman of the NARAL Pro-Choice America Board, which boasts about 2.5 million members, as well as chair of the National Institute of Reproductive Health Action Fund. She has also represented Planned Parenthood at the U.S. Supreme Court as a litigation partner at the Paul Weiss law firm.