Dan Rayfield on running for attorney general, top issues, what’s going right

KOIN 6 News contacted candidates who are running for Oregon attorney general in 2024, asking them to respond to these questions:

• Why are you running for Attorney General?

• What is your previous government/civic experience?

• If elected, what would be your top priorities as attorney general?

• What is going right in the Attorney General’s office? How would you build on it?

• Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade in 2022, the Oregon Department of Justice launched the Oregon Reproductive Rights Hotline and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum led a multistate lawsuit with Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson – securing an injunction to preserve access to the abortion medication mifepristone. If elected, how will your office work on these issues?”

• In 2023, the Oregon DOJ convened a group of law enforcement members, health care providers, and lawmakers to discuss ways to address the state’s fentanyl crisis. If elected, how will you address the fentanyl/substance abuse crises?

Dan Rayfield is running as a Democrat. Here are his responses:

Why are you running for attorney general?

Oregon currently faces a unique set of challenges from our addiction and substance abuse problem to the struggles we’re seeing with housing affordability in every community. At the same time, our state also has opportunities right now to better help struggling Oregonians to make sure that everyone has the same opportunities in life. I am running for attorney general because I believe, with the right leadership, the Department of Justice can be an indispensable partner to help fix these issues and to help make Oregon the best place to work, live, and raise a family.

What is your previous government/civic experience?

I believe there are three areas of my background that have prepared me to be a good Attorney General. The first is a solid legal background, with nearly 18 years as a practicing attorney in Oregon, I’ve focused on general civil litigation, consumer protection and representing people with claims against the insurance industry and large corporations. I gained my first trial experience during law school, clerking in the Benton County District Attorney’s Office and prosecuting DUIs and misdemeanors. The second is my record as a legislator and Speaker of the Oregon House, where I delivered for Oregonians by passing laws to expand access to health care, increase funding for public schools, increase the minimum wage, protect our environment and help address the climate crisis, and pass the strongest reproductive health care and abortion protections in the country. The third is more personal. Growing up, I saw up close how physical abuse and addiction impacts families – and what it is like to struggle to make ends meet. That is why I have worked hard to bring law enforcement and criminal justice reform advocates together to address the drug addiction and crime that are impacting our communities, and protect Oregonians from predatory lenders and insurance companies. This unique set of experiences equips me with the vision and expertise required to be an Attorney General who can protect all Oregonians no matter your background or where you live in Oregon.

If elected, what would be your top priorities as attorney general?

The principal role of the Attorney General is to serve as the legal representative of the state, which is why it is important that they have hands-on, Oregon legal experience. Within that framework, there are three overarching goals that will focus our work. First, we will work to protect Oregonians’ values – and the laws that reflect those values – from national threats, including those to reproductive health care, collective bargaining, and our vote-by-mail system. The second focus will be to expand the work of the Civil Enforcement Division, ensuring enforcement of the laws that uphold our values and protect vulnerable Oregonians. Specifically, I would create the Working Families Unit, and strengthening the support for folks – like my single mom – who relied on child support showing up on time. Finally, we will focus on partnering with law enforcement and criminal justice reform advocates to keep our communities safe, reduce gun violence, and help combat homelessness and substance abuse disorder. Many positive steps were taken in HB 4002 (2024) but the crisis will not be fixed overnight and we’re committed to continuing these efforts to improve community safety.

What is going right in the Attorney General’s office? How would you build on it?

Building on Attorney General Rosenblum’s tenure, our administration will look for additional opportunities to proactively investigate and prosecute when Oregonians are being harmed. I would particularly focus on the most urgent needs of our time: environmental protection, civil rights, and consumer protections. First, we will increase the ongoing work to hold corporations accountable, especially those contributing to climate change. Second, through the expansion of the Civil Enforcement Division, we will bolster the Department of Justice’s capacity to ensure our civil rights and consumer protection laws are being enforced – and hold bad actors accountable when they’re not. Third, I would create a Working Families Unit in the Department of Justice; this unit would consist of attorneys and investigators focused on enforcing key labor protections like wage theft, misclassification, and child labor. We have some of the strongest protections in the country, but if they are not being enforced, they don’t mean anything. Finally, I am committed to conducting a comprehensive review of the internal processes at the Department of Justice to identify and implement improvements in areas such as State Agency third-party contracting, procurement processes, and litigation review. This will ensure that state services are getting to Oregonians effectively and efficiently – and state agencies are getting the best legal counsel to deliver those services.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade in 2022, the Oregon Department of Justice launched the Oregon Reproductive Rights Hotline and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum led a multistate lawsuit with Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson – securing an injunction to preserve access to the abortion medication mifepristone. If elected, how will your office work on these issues?”

There is nothing more intensely personal than the decision of when or whether to have a child. That decision, and any decision about reproductive health, is a right that should belong to the individual – not a judge and certainly not politicians. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was a harsh reminder that we can never take our fundamental rights for granted. The extreme Dobbs decision is making women and families across the country less safe and is harming millions of people; this is especially true for people of color, and low-income individuals, which only worsens existing inequities.

I am proud of my work in the legislature to ensure that, here in Oregon, reproductive rights and healthcare have the strongest protections in the nation. As Attorney General, I will fiercely defend those protections and stand up to extremists’ attempts to impose any national abortion bans and efforts by some states to reach beyond their borders to restrict safe access to abortion. I am committed to protecting, strengthening, and expanding safe, equitable access to reproductive and gender-affirming care, no matter who you are, where you live, or how much money you make.

In 2023, the Oregon DOJ convened a group of law enforcement members, health care providers, and lawmakers to discuss ways to address the state’s fentanyl crisis. If elected, how will you address the fentanyl/substance abuse crises?

As a child, I saw the impacts of addiction and substance abuse up close and even attended AA meetings with my mother. This is a deeply important and personal issue to me. Addiction is a significant public health crisis; effectively and immediately delivering treatment to those struggling with it must be a top priority. It is also clear that addiction is part of a complex web of issues that include homelessness, mental and behavioral health, and criminal activity.

As Attorney General, I will bring together law enforcement and criminal justice reform advocates to find proven, solutions-driven approaches to better connect people to services while strengthening efforts to go after large-scale drug trafficking

It’s clear that housing and substance abuse can often be linked together.

During Oregon’s housing crisis I have worked to create the largest housing packages in the state’s history to get people off the streets and into stable housing and increase the supply of housing so homes are more affordable for all Oregonians. I have been frustrated by the red tape and time that it has taken for these investments and policies to make an impact in our communities. As Attorney General, I will work with state agencies to streamline these legal processes to get these investments into communities so that services can be delivered now.

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