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Smart Voter
New York State Government November 2, 2010 Election
Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues
Attorney General; State of New York


The questions were prepared by the Leagues of Women Voters of New York State and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Qualifications, Priorities, Proposed Solutions

Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest.

? 1. What qualifies you for the office?

Answer from Eric T. Schneiderman:

As a public-interest lawyer and lawmaker, I have spent my life fighting for justice. I represented women's health clinics being attacked by anti-choice groups, represented straphangers in a series of historic lawsuits against the MTA, and led the committee to expel Hiram Monserrate from the senate for domestic violence.

Answer from Dan Donovan:

As DA, I transformed an underperforming office that ranked last in NYC, into one of the highest-performing DA's offices in New York State. I looked at what was failing and overhauled our approach to better serve our communities. Today, we routinely lead NYC in felony convictions and crime reduction.

? 2. What do you see as the greatest challenges and highest priorities?

Answer from Dan Donovan:

The state's greatest challenge is public corruption and eliminating corruption is my highest priority. Corruption destroys faith in government and deters investment in our state which creates jobs and opportunity for everyone. Moreover, corruption wastes our tax dollars which we need to maintain balanced budgets and protect vital services.

Answer from Eric T. Schneiderman:

One of the most important jobs of the next Attorney General will be to restore the public's confidence in our public and private institutions. I will work to restore integrity to our state and local governments, protect New Yorkers from abusive debt collectors and insurance companies, and fight mortgage fraud.

? 3. What are your solutions?

Answer from Dan Donovan:

I will seek original jurisdiction over all public corruption cases, advocate for full disclosure of state legislators' outside incomes and seek greater transparency in "member-item" allocations. I'll also strengthen rules to eliminate pay-to-play schemes in our pension system and aggressively target Medicaid fraud to return monies to local counties.

Answer from Eric T. Schneiderman:

I will put a public integrity officer in every regional office, enforce new state laws requiring insurance companies to spend more of our premiums on patient care, and create a team of elite prosecutors to enforce state anti-predatory lending rules. For my full Attorney General agenda, please visit http://www.ericschneiderman.com/blueprint.


Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' responses are not edited or corrected by the League.

The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.


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Created: October 3, 2011 11:12 PDT
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