Projo Politics Blog

J. William W. Harsch, the Republican candidate for attorney general, today made a series of proposals for making the office more “open and accountable,” including open office hours, a toll-free tip line and elimination of the position of attorney general’s spokesperson.

In his “AG Access” plan, Harsch accused the office of his opponent, Democratic Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch, of having a “behind-closed-door approach to conducting business.”

“We face a crisis of mistrust of our government, and specifically within the Office of Attorney General,” Harsch said in a news release. “I will work tirelessly to restore a sense of confidence and trust in the attorney general’s office by opening up a direct line of communication between my administration and the public.”

Harsch called for office hours to let people talk directly to the attorney general; an online consumer alert forum and toll-free tip line to report consumer scams; regular town hall meetings throughout the state; and the elimination of the spokesperson’s job.

“The buck stops here,” Harsch said. “Spokespeople tend to distance the attorney general from the public, often protecting him/her from criticism.”

Campaign coordinator Tom Shevlin said Harsch would maintain a public relations office, but Harsch would talk directly to reporters. He said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal often talks directly to reporters.

Lynch’s campaign manager, Andrea Iannazzi, said, “With 14 days to go and the clock running out, our opponent’s barrage of campaign rhetoric is becoming increasingly bizarre. Today, on one hand, he proposes increasing public access while on the other hand eliminating the public information officer, who handles close to 10,000 press calls and inquiries from the public every year. His lack of understanding of the role of the attorney general and of the work of the office is yet again glaringly evident.”

-- Journal staff writer Edward Fitzpatrick

Comments

trudy said:

Neither even had the courtesy to answer my question about enforcing the RI environmental law about large businesses like CVS having to offer customers paper bags, not just plastic bags, which Lynch's office currently ignores.

Link | October 27, 2006 6:08 AM
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