Attorney General

 

Republican

 

Craig Wolf

Where you live: Howard County

Date of birth: May 19, 1962

Current occupation and employer (may also list up to two other jobs you’ve held); if retired, list your last job and employer: President and CEO, Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America; MAJ, United States Army Reserve JAG Corps

Political experience (public offices held and when, as well as unsuccessful campaigns for office and which years): Frederick County Republican Central Committee, 2001-2004; delegate candidate, Marco Rubio for President, 2016

Campaign information:

1 – Why are you running for this office? (75 words max)

The current Attorney General has politicized the office, focusing on national politics instead of prioritizing the most important issues facing Marylanders.  Baltimore is  the murder capital of the country. We have over 2,000 opioid deaths per year. We are 4th in the country in trafficking of women and children. And gang and gun violence is out of control. We need an Attorney General who will work with law enforcement and Governor Hogan, not against them.

2 – What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it? (100 words max)

Violent crime and the opioid crisis are the top issues. I will partner with federal law enforcement, focusing on violent repeat offenders, drug dealers and gangs — sending them to the federal system, where penalties are more severe and there is no parole. Concurrently, I will advocate for alternatives to incarceration for addicts who are convicted of minor drug offenses. I will advocate for the return of the death penalty for those who kill first responders and those who murder two or more individuals. And I will sue the opioid manufacturers whose misleading marketing helped fuel this crisis.

3 – What is one major issue the current attorney general has handled poorly and what would you have done differently? (100 words max)

The Attorney General unilaterally altered Maryland’s bail system by engineering a backdoor deal at the Court of Appeals. Now, judges’ hands are tied; they can either hold offenders without bail, or release them with only a promise to appear at trial. This has led to an increase in pretrial imprisonment for minor offenders, while allowing for the pretrial release of thousands of violent offenders pending their trial, free to continue wreaking havoc in our communities. I would seek to have the Court of Appeals return discretion to our judges and work on proper bail reform through the legislative process.

4 – What experience (work, political or other) has prepared you to hold this office? (100 words max)

I am a former state and federal prosecutor, Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, business leader, Soldier and Veteran. As prosecutor, I worked to protect the most vulnerable in society, focusing on child abuse and exploitation, domestic violence, trafficking and violent crime. As Senate Counsel, I worked across the aisle to gain passage of legislation protecting children from sexual predators. I joined the Army after 9/11 at the age of 40 and deployed to Afghanistan at 49. And as a business leader, I was an effective leader/manager who worked in a nonpartisan manner to achieve our objectives.

 

Democrat

 

Brian E. Frosh (incumbent)

Where you live: Somerset

Date of birth: Oct. 8, 1946

Current occupation and employer (may also list up to two other jobs you’ve held); if retired, list your last job and employer: Maryland attorney general

Political experience (public offices held and when, as well as unsuccessful campaigns for office and which years): Attorney general, 2015-present. State Senate, 1995-2015. House of Delegates, 1987-1995.

Campaign information:

1 – Why are you running for this office? (75 words max)

As Attorney General, I’m running for re-election to continue my work to protect Marylanders, to make their neighborhoods safer, to improve their lives and to deliver justice. I will continue to protect vulnerable individuals across our state, stand up for civil rights and protect our treasured Chesapeake Bay. I will fight to make sure that every Marylander has clean air to breathe and clean water to drink

2 – What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it? (100 words max)

Protecting Marylanders has been the focus of my Administration. We have recovered millions of dollars for Marylanders from predatory lenders, Wall Street banks, tobacco companies and polluters. We have indicted and put behind bars some of the most dangerous people in the state: violent gang members, drug traffickers, human traffickers and illegal pill mill operators. We have shut down sham charities and other organizations that prey on vulnerable Marylanders. We have defended Maryland’s gun safety laws in court and won repeatedly, including a resounding victory in federal court declaring our ban on assault weapons constitutional.

3 – What is one criticism you have received while in office and what is your response? (100 words max)

My opponent says we should not be suing the Trump Administration. We have sued to protect the Affordable Care Act. Otherwise, millions of Marylanders would lose coverage for pre-existing conditions and many would lose coverage altogether. We’ve sued to protect women’s right to make their own health care decisions. We’ve sued Betsy DeVos, because she allows predatory for-profit “schools” to take advantage of vulnerable students. We have sued to stop EPA from tearing apart the laws that keep our air and water clean and protect us from toxic chemicals. We have sued to stop Trump from tearing families apart.

4 – What experience (work, political or other) has prepared you to hold this office? (100 words max)

My work as Attorney General has won praise from the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, elected officials and law enforcement officials. I wrote many of the laws that I am charged to enforce and interpret when I served in the General Assembly, including 12 years as Chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.

My work in public service has been recognized by the American Lung Association, Maryland State Fraternal Order of Police, Maryland State Bar Association, Maryland Children’s Alliance, Common Cause, Sierra Club, Maryland League of Conservation Voters, Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition and many others.