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Arizona Attorney General candidate Mark Brnovich speaks to ASU College Republicans


Arizona Attorney General candidate Mark Brnovich told ASU College Republicans Wednesday that he wouldn't embarrass the state.

He was referring to the recent verdict of a county prosecutor that current Attorney General Tom Horne had violated campaign laws to the tune of $400,000, among other allegations.

"I think you want someone in that office who actually worked with law enforcement to enforce the laws, versus someone who has been accused of breaking the laws," he said.

ASU alumnus Brnovich is Horne's only challenger in the 2014 Republican primary, and he said he will be a suitable replacement, not only because of his background as a prosecutor, but because he is not a politician.

Brnovich was the director of the Arizona Department of Gaming and left to work for the Goldwater Institute, a Phoenix-based conservative think tank.

"I think it's important as Republicans that we hold on to the Attorney General's office," he said.

ASU Young Democrats PresidentAustin Stumpf, an economics junior, said in an email that he is concerned about having a candidate who is focused so heavily on his political party.

"The most importance shouldn't be placed on which party holds this office," he said. "The office of Attorney General needs a prosecutor, not a politician."

Brnovich laid out three major priorities to which he would attend if he were to be elected.

He said he wants to do more to prosecute human traffickers and that he is concerned about projections that human trafficking will exceed drug trafficking in the next decade.

He said he believes Republicans need to do more to protect and advocate for those he called the most vulnerable in society. He referred to recent stories of foster child abuse.

"We need to aggressively investigate those cases, and prosecute those cases," he said.

Brnovich's third priority, the one that received the most support from the College Republicans in the room, was his determination to fight back against the federal government.

He spoke several times throughout his speech about the failures of the new health care law and also cited an example of Horne's office using taxpayer resources in a lawsuit to stop the merger of American Airlines and US Airways.

"It's bad enough when the legislature or the Governor tries to pick winners or losers in the market place," he said. "But it's even worse when the lawyers do it."

Brnovich said the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the constitutionality of the health care law but that there are other "avenues of attack" against it.

"The Obama administration is really overreaching and exceeding its authority," he said.

Brnovich did not get too specific about his policies and it is still early on in the race. ASU College Republicans President Carlos Alfaro, an economics senior, said he is looking forward to having Brnovich as an Attorney General if he wins because of his priorities.

"I think he is the new face the Attorney General for Arizona should have," he said.

Political science junior Nathan Brown attended the meeting and said he likes that Brnovich would stand up to the federal government.

"I think Mark has more clear priorities on what the state needs to be doing," he said.

Reach the reporter at at kloschia@asu.edu or find her on Twitter @klosch

 

Editor's Note: Carlos Alfaro is a former State Press columnist. He no longer works for the paper and was not involved in the reporting of this article.


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