BOSTON (Legal Newsline) -- Maura Healey, a former top aide to Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, launched her campaign for Coakley's job Monday.
Last week, Healey resigned from her post as one of Coakley's top deputies. Healey lead two divisions of the Attorney General's Office, the Business and Labor and Public Protection and Advocacy bureaus.
She also served as chief of the office's Civil Rights Division.
Healey, a Democrat, is the first announced candidate in the race and a first-time candidate.
"I'm running for attorney general to advance the office's tradition under Martha Coakley of steady leadership on important legal and regulatory and economic issues facing our state and its nation-leading advocacy for equality, fairness and justice," she said in a statement Monday.
"Martha Coakley has been one of the best AGs in our state and nation, and I've been lucky to have been a part of her leadership team on some of our biggest challenges and most important fights on behalf of the taxpayers."
Coakley, the first woman to serve as the state's top lawyer, announced last month she is running for governor.
"The Attorney General's Office is one that requires experienced, principled and steady leadership, a professional lawyer and advocate who prioritizes fairness, equality and justice," Healey said.
"I believe my unique experience and vision for the office make me the best candidate to ensure our Commonwealth's businesses, industry and government play by the rules and on a level playing field and that taxpayers are always protected."
Healey said her top priorities, if elected, will be focusing on protecting consumers from unfair and deceptive practices in lending, insurance, investment and other financial services; addressing escalating health care costs; and enforcing environmental laws to protect the state's natural resources while addressing concerns over energy costs.
Prior to joining the Attorney General's Office, Healey worked at an international law firm in Boston as a business and securities litigator. She also was a criminal prosecutor in the Middlesex District Attorney's Office.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at jessica@legalnewsline.com.
Coakley's former top aide running for Mass. AG
