PHOENIX (Legal Newsline) – Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) and his opponent, January Contreras (D) faced off in a televised debated on Oct.10, discussing some key topics of their platforms.
The debate was hosted by Clean Elections through Arizona Horizon and was moderated by Ted Simons, host of the nightly public affairs show on Arizona PBS.
Contreras, was the first to give her opening remarks, referencing the fact that she was passionate about fighting for the people of Arizona and that she had worked with Janet Napolitano, former governor of Arizona, for 10 years.
January Contreras
"As we look at the attorney general’s office, the No. 1 responsibility it has is to fight for the people of Arizona," Contreras said.
Contreras outlined several actions that Brnovich's office is involved in, including the repealing of the Affordable Care Act, and called into question whether the Arizona attorney general should be handling such cases.
Brnovich began his opening statements thanking the citizens for the privilege of serving them for the past four years and referencing a number of cases he has taken up in defense of the Arizona public, such as those against Theranos, Volkswagen and General Motors.
The first topic examined why voters should remove an incumbent attorney general in the upcoming elections, to which Contreras was the first to reply.
"We need a good look as whose side the attorney general's office is being used for," Contreras said.
While, Contreras explained, there are hundreds of assistant attorneys general at Brnovich's office who are doing fine work, she believes that the leadership matters a great deal.
"We need to be separate from partisan interests, and that’s just the way that we need to move forward," Contreras said.
While Brnovich denied any partisan leanings, he did explain that his office has returned a record amount of money to Arizonans - more than $40 million in restitution.
"We touch people’s lives every day, and we need an attorney general who is going to fight for Arizona and not someone who is partisan," Brnovich said.
Brnovich pointed out that Contreras has spent much of her career working for partisan Democrat leaders, claiming that she has given more than 80 contributions to Democrats or Democratic committees.
In response to Brnovich's statement of Contreras' partisan leanings, Simons inquired to Contreras if she would be more likely to side with Democrats if elected to the position of attorney general.
"No, we need to get back to focusing on kids in the foster care system, our seniors in nursing homes and consumer protection," Contreras said.
Brnovich believes that the Affordable Care Act was an overreach of the federal government and voiced his frustration at the lack of transparency the Act brought with it.
"We were told that health care costs would go down; that wasn’t true. Whether it’s the legislature or the federal government, someone needs to step up and do their job," Brnovich said.
When questioned about her thoughts on challenging the federal government, Contreras agreed that there are times when the attorney general needs to step up, referencing the situation of immigrant families being separated at the border.
As the election for attorney general is one that carries a lot of weight with it, the candidates were questioned regarding the donors to their campaigns.
Brnovich explained that his office has discovered, via notices filed with Clean Elections, that Tom Steyer, a California billionaire, had pledged to put $3.6 million into attacking Brnovich's campaign.
Contreras denied any personal knowledge of this size of contribution, but did stand by the alleged rationale behind the anti-Brnovich ads.
"I think those initiatives against you are going forward because they are offended that the attorney general's office weighed in and manipulated language on a ballot initiative where Arizona Public Service (APS) had donated $425,000 to Mark Brnovich," Contreras said.
Brnovich systematically opposed Contreras' statements, explaining that APS had donated to the Republican Attorney General Association, not his specific office. Additionally, he pointed out that the attorney general is required by statute to review and approve ballot language, regardless of whether or not the ballot items are associated with a particular party.
Before closing statements, Contreras challenged Brnovich on the topic of gay marriage, insinuating that her opponent would be trying to put limitations on how could marry who. Brnovich stated that since the Supreme Court's decision regarding gay marriage had been made, he would not be trying to change the allowances for marriage.
Brnovich delivered his closing statements first, pointing out that he has been endorsed by all the major police associations, the state's Chamber of Commerce and other local groups.
"When I first got elected, I told the folks that voted for me that I was going to work hard every day to reward their trust, for those that didn’t, I said I would work hard every day to earn your trust," Brnovich said. "We've made sure we’re keeping our community safe. We’ve gone after crooks and have returned a record amount of money to Arizonans."
In her closing statements, Contreras reiterated the importance of this race and the fact that she will listen to her constituents if she is elected.
"I meet people every day who are hurting and who want elected officials who they can trust - no hidden agendas," Contreras said.