Endorsement: Nick Brown for Attorney General

Brown is a Bulwark Against Trump & Innovative Policy Thinker

I am happy to endorse Nick Brown for Attorney General. I am also delighted to report that the Seattle Times and The Stranger have both endorsed him as well, a formidable feat.   

I had the privilege of meeting Nick last year when we spoke at the same event. He was a compelling speaker with a compelling message, and I enjoyed our conversation and those we have had since. I also believe his experiences and priorities make him the strongest candidate this year. 

Protecting Our Freedoms

Most important, Mr. Brown will be ready on day one to fight like hell to protect Washington Citizens from an increasingly likely Trump administration, which will show up armed with Project 2025 and armored with monarchical immunity for crimes he has committed and almost certainly will commit. 

While I spend most of my time here focusing on local politics and policy–I do that because it is under-discussed and its importance is underappreciated. But I cannot overstate how important it is to me that we elect leaders with Nick’s talent, experience, drive and priorities– working to protect us from the pernicious impacts of a better prepared and more ambitious MAGA administration.

Enforcement As Policy

In addition, I like how he thinks about using the Attorney General’s office to produce better policy outcomes through enforcement. In fact, his interest in enforcing housing policy and prosecuting wage theft are part of what originally caught my attention. He also recognizes that public safety depends on the right kind of upstream investments, including protecting us from guns and investing in people.

I also share his belief that the Attorney General’s office needs to play a central role in investigating deaths involving the police. Housing this function outside local departments is a way to ensure greater independence and thus accountability. 

The Right Kind of Experience

Nick’s experiences suggest his learning curve will be mild. He was Governor Inslee’s General Counsel, and worked with Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office on the response to Trump’s Muslim ban. He was appointed to be the US Attorney for Western Washington by Biden, running a formidable legal operation. As a JAG officer, he won a Bronze Star, after having graduated from Harvard Law School.

Brown has a formidable opponent in Manka Dhingra. Though Dhingra’s campaign has stumbled in recent weeks, she is a strong, progressive leader with experience as a prosecutor and a Senator. However, as the Stranger noted, her prosecutorial experience mostly involves criminal law, whereas Brown’s experience is broader and more relevant to the work of the Attorney General’s Office. In the Stranger’s words, “All in all, we believe that Brown is more prepared to hit the ground running in 2025, which we’ll need in the advent of a Trump kingship.” 

I agree.

And so does this eye-wateringly long list of endorsers of progressive and centrist leaders, unions, tribes, Democratic organizations and the like.

Vote Nick Brown!