BOSTON (Legal Newsline) -- State Rep. Harold "Hank" Naughton officially joined the race for Massachusetts attorney general Thursday.
Naughton, a Democrat, currently serves as the House chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. He has served in the state House of Representatives since 1995.
Prior to being elected to the House, he was a prosecutor in the Worcester Country District Attorney's office.
In his video announcement, Naughton said he believes he can "best serve" the state as attorney general.
"I'll stand in your corner to fight crime and fraud, to get illegal guns off of our streets, to keep our communities safe and be an advocate for working men and women, honest businesses and the protection of our environment," he said.
Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Naughton joined the United States Army Reserve.
Now a major, Naughton has served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is currently assigned to the Third Legal Operational Detachment and as an adjunct to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Defense Institute of International Legal Studies.
In 2011, then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appointed Naughton to the International Security Advisory Board. The board, made up of 24 members, provides the department with independent insight and advice on all aspects of arms control, disarmament, international security and related aspects of public diplomacy. The board provides its recommendations directly to the secretary.
Current Secretary of State John Kerry reappointed Naughton to the board earlier this year.
In addition, Naughton continues to practice law through his own firm, with a concentration on litigation, criminal defense, and local, national and international development issues.
A graduate of Clinton High School, Assumption College and Suffolk University School of Law, Naughton lives in his hometown of Clinton with his wife Ellen and their four children.
He is now the second Democrat to join the race for current Attorney General Martha Coakley's job.
Maura Healey, a former top aide to Coakley, launched her campaign Monday.
Coakley, the first woman to serve as the state's top lawyer, announced last month she is running for governor.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at jessica@legalnewsline.com.
Mass. lawmaker joins AG race
