At a campaign stop in Hopkinsville, attorney general candidate Greg Stumbo put emphasis on his experience, along with a pledge to support public employees and teachers, and a plan to open a new investigation into opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma. He also said he would establish a regional office in Western Kentucky if he is elected.
Stumbo, 68, the Democratic nominee, is a former state attorney general and served as the speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives. He was in the Kentucky House for 30 years and was attorney general from 2004-2008.
“My opponent is a nice young man. I’m not going to say anything bad about him. But he’s never tried a case in court, he’s never led a criminal or civil investigation. I’ve done all that,” Stumbo said in an interview Tuesday night after speaking to a group of supporters at the Main Street Tavern Restaurant.
Stumbo’s Republican challenger, Daniel Cameron, 33, practices law with a Louisville firm. He was general counsel to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell from 2013-2015.
A lawsuit, filed by a Louisville resident over Cameron’s eligibility to run for attorney general, is pending in Jefferson Circuit Court. An attorney general candidate must have practiced law for at least eight years by Election Day, and the lawsuit alleges a Cameron does not have the required experience because his time as a law clerk from 2011-2013 does not count. Democrat Ben Chandler faced a similar challenge that was resolved in his favor before he won the 1995 election as attorney general.
“One of the things I want to do is bring an office back to Western Kentucky,” Stumbo said. “I think the attorney general being the people’s lawyer, that the people have a right to have access to their attorney. Most people can’t get to Frankfort, so having these regional offices was important. We’re going to do that again.”
In his first term as attorney general, he had a regional office in Benton.
Stumbo said he wants to reopen the Purdue Pharma case to see if the manufacturer provided correct information to the court in its $24 million settlement with Kentucky four years ago under then-Attorney General Jack Conway.
The opioid crisis is a top priority among voters, Stumbo said.
The general election is Nov. 5.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
