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| Richard Pope, Republican |
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| Candidate: Attorney general |
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| Richard Pope |
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| Age: 38 |
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| Residence: Shoreline |
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| Occupation: |
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Attorney |
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| Education: |
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J.D., University of Washington |
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| Political history: |
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Candidate for state attorney general, 1996 |
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| Endorsements: No response |
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| Campaign Web site: None |
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| Campaign theme: Time for a change! |
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| 1. |
Do you support the recommendations in the attorney general's privacy report? Please give details. |
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Definitely yes. Consumers must be able to review and correct personal information collected or maintained by businesses or government. Selling or sharing of Social Security and bank-account numbers, and other personal information should require an individual's written consent. |
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| 2. |
Would you support a law limiting the amount of damages people could recover from the state? Why or why not? |
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Absolutely not. The state must be held accountable for wrongfully injuring people -- just like anyone else. Preventable lawsuits have cost taxpayers tens of millions because of bad legal advice and botched representation. The attorney general must ensure that state agencies obey the law so this doesn't happen. |
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| 3. |
With some states reconsidering the death penalty, what is your position and what changes, if any, do you think are needed in Washington's law? Under what circumstances would you support a moratorium? |
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Death penalty is warranted for certain brutal murders. Legislature and people must decide whether death penalty should be retained or abolished. Washington's law adequately protects the rights of both victims and accused persons. Moratorium not appropriate here unless serious questions about innocent people being executed. |
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| 4. |
What would you do to improve the Attorney General's office? |
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Restore professionalism, integrity and competence. Increase morale of attorneys and staff. Redirect funding to improve hiring, training and retention of qualified attorneys. Reduce spending on expensive outside lawyers. Provide proper legal advice and representation to state agencies to reduce lawsuit exposure. |
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| 5. |
What do you think the top priority of the office should be? |
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Top priority should be representation and advocacy for the people of Washington. Fight for consumer protection and public safety. Protect families, children, elderly and disabled from violence and abuse. Protect all citizens from government wrongdoing and mismanagement. |
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