Hanover High Alums Lose in Primaries
The New York Attorney General Democratic primary took place on September 13, 2018. Four candidates ran for the position: Leecia Eve, a former senior policy advisor to Hillary Clinton; Letitia James, a New York City Public Advocate; Sean Patrick Maloney, a United States Representative for New York; and Zephyr Teachout, a professor at Fordham University’s Law School. Although the primary race was very tight with each candidate running strong campaigns, Letitia James ultimately pulled ahead. James received 40.6% of the votes, Teachout received 31.0%, Maloney received 25%, and Eve received 3.4%.
As previously reported by the HHS Broadside, both Teachout and Maloney were Hanover High School graduates. Teachout’s campaign rested on key issues of Trump’s lawlessness and corruption, workers’ rights, and sexual harassment/violence. According to her website, she has “been in the legal fight against Trump’s lawless actions from the moment he was elected,” and she believes that she is “fully ready to lead that fight for the people of New York.” Her website states that “three days after he was elected,” she “was one of a team of top lawyers to sue Trump for his violations of the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.” Along with her fight against Trump, Teachout aims to protect workers’ rights saying that she would investigate wage theft, “investigate any company doing business in New York that violates the New York State Fair Pay Act,” and “ensure workplace safety regulations are enforced.” Teachout also praised the bravery of women for speaking up and bashed the rampant and systematic mistreatment of women. Teachout ran on a more progressive platform. She was endorsed by 14th Congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon.
Maloney’s campaign rested on key issues of opioid and heroin abuse, and military and veterans’ issues. He wanted to get more prevention and treatment centers, keep drugs off the street, and keep children safe. He passed the Opioid Review Modernization Act, which would combat opioid abuse by improving the education of prescribing physicians. Maloney introduced the Life-Saving Librarians Act, which would provide critical opioid antidotes to community members. Also, he believed strongly in treating veterans with respect and providing benefits and support to them. Maloney emphasized that he was the first openly gay man elected to Congress from New York and would use the position to fight for LGBTQ causes. He criticized Letitia James for her endorsements. He said that her campaign was “propped up by insiders.”
New York’s Attorney General has an important role in regulating Wall Street and is the prosecutor of the rich and powerful. If Letitia James wins the general election, she would become the first African American woman to hold a statewide elected office in New York.