Ferguson's Priorities as Attorney General Would Be Consumers, Environment, Public Safety and Vets

For Bob Ferguson there’s no better place for lawyer to make a difference in people’s lives than as the state attorney general, a job he’s the first to declare candidacy for in 2012.

“I’m getting in early it’s fair to say,” said Ferguson, a 46-year-old Democrat who lives in Seattle’s Maple Leaf neighborhood.

It’s widely believed that current Attorney General Rob McKenna, a republican, will throw his hat into the governor’s race in 2012.

The King County Councilman, who represents Shoreline and Lake Forest Park, has served on the King County Council since 2003, beating incumbents to get elected in 2003 and in 2005.

The fourth-generation Washingtonian plans to run on a platform touting consumer protection, enforcement of environmental laws and public safety in the Aug. 2012 primary.

In the consumer protection area, he hopes to focus on predatory lenders and look out for Washington consumers who are “trying to make it through a tough economy.”

When it comes to the environment, Ferguson said “it’s what makes the state unique. I want to focus more on enforcement of environmental laws--the quality of land, air and water,”

He also wants to give more assistance to veterans, adding that his dad, grandfathers and a lot of his uncles were veterans. If elected, he said he plans to create a division of the AG’s office to assist veterans and help them access benefits easier.

Ferguson passed on two previous positions that opened up in recent years, King County prosecutor and King County Executive.

“I thought the right fit for me was attorney general,” he said. “With all the effort involved in campaigning you want to go for a position you really want and you’re a good fit for.”

Ferguson was a civil litigator for five years at Preston Gates Ellis now K&L Gates, experience that he believes is an ideal background for being attorney general.

“I represented a wide range of clients in the law firm,” he said. “Local governments, including King County, city governments. I got a real feel for how government worked.”

Previously, he worked as law clerk for a federal Court of Appeals judge in the Midwest and a federal judge in Spokane where got to see the internal workings of how a judge works on cases.
Ferguson ran on a platform of change in leadership when he was elected to the King County Council and he believes he has delivered.

Reforming county government was a priority of his, and he said he was heavily involved in to effort to reform the county elections office that had problems in 2004. The series of reforms have “exceeded my expectations,” he said.

He also has worked with republican colleagues on issues.

“The best way to get things done in politics is to work across the aisle and find a partner who is going to work with you,” he said. “If you take a bi-partisan proposal to the King County Council, success is likely.”

Among his accomplishments are a veterans services levy that passed in 2005 that provides $14 million for programs for veterans and is up for renewal this year; and maintaining funding for the criminal justice system, including the courts, jail prosecuting attorneys and defense attorneys.

“I worked with council members to make that more efficient, provide adequate funding and make sure we maintain core funding,” he said.