The News Tribune endorses Nick Brown for Washington’s attorney general | Opinion
In the Washington attorney general’s race, voters have an easy choice between Nick Brown, an experienced candidate with a reasoned, proactive approach to criminal justice, and Pete Serrano, a less-experienced opponent with troubling ties to a right-wing group.
Brown is a Democrat and Harvard Law School graduate. Until recently he served as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington. In that job he dealt with drug trafficking, gun violence and consumer fraud. Before that, he was general counsel to Gov. Jay Inslee, leading the state’s efforts to end the death penalty. He worked in private practice. And he served as a JAG officer in the U.S. Army, including at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He received a Bronze Star for his service in Iraq.
In other words, he is more than qualified to lead a large state agency with more than 1,800 employees, 800 of them attorneys. He can hit the ground running.
For good and ill, Brown likely would be a continuation of the past 12 years under Attorney General Bob Ferguson. For example, Ferguson established the office’s first environmental enforcement and civil rights divisions. Brown wants a similar division for labor and worker protection.
In a break from Ferguson, Brown wants to increase the office’s focus on criminal justice and crime deterrence. We hope he also will dial back the rampant lawsuits against the federal government. Federal overreach must be challenged, but too often Ferguson’s attempts came off as just grandstanding against the Trump administration.
Serrano, Brown’s Republican opponent, is the mayor of Pasco. He came to Washington state in 2015 to serve as an environmental lawyer for the U.S. Department of Energy at the Hanford Site. Today he is director and general counsel at the Silent Majority Foundation. That group filed lawsuits against the state to block COVID mandates and to overturn bans on gun magazines that carry more than 10 rounds. It makes exaggerated claims about “government tyrants” and is defending the mayor of Spokane against a city council censure for appearing onstage with a Christian nationalist and anti-LGBTQ extremist last year.
Although Serrano pledges to remove “partisan blinders” as attorney general, he appears inclined to do anything but that, to the point of referring to Jan. 6 rioters as “political prisoners.” His group has consistently sought to block sensible public policy under the guise of protecting the rights of citizens.
Serrano also lacks the depth of experience Brown brings. If he wins the election, there would be a learning curve.
Brown and Serrano disagree about the attorney general’s role in state government. Brown would continue the long-standing practice of the attorney general proposing legislation. Serrano says he would not. While it is true the judicial branch does not pass laws, it is quite reasonable and desirable for the attorney general to work with lawmakers to fix problems the office has identified in the criminal justice system. That’s leadership.
The two do seem to agree on one thing, though. Both say they are committed to transparency and open government, a welcome and significant shift from Ferguson’s lackluster record.
We recommend Brown for state attorney general on Nov. 5.
The News Tribune Editorial Board is: Stephanie Pedersen, TNT president and editor; Jim Walton, community representative; Amanda Figueroa, community representative; Justin Evans, community representative; J. Manny Santiago, community representative; Bart Hayes, community representative.
This story was originally published October 18, 2024 at 5:00 AM.