Name, 

It’s been an incredibly busy fall, and I haven’t written for some time now. Please bear with me, as this is both longer and more personal that what I usually say in an email to you. 

The purpose of this message is to talk politics — mostly Oregon politics—and to share a decision I have made. 

First though, I sincerely hope you had an enjoyable, safe, and fulfilling Thanksgiving weekend, including Indigenous People’s Day on Friday. All of us have so much to be grateful for. We must also say our thanks to the many who worked right through this holiday weekend as frontline workers in hospitals and other medical settings — as well as to so many others who sacrificed time with their families to maintain the flow of goods and provision of services we so rely on.

In addition to the holidays being upon us, so is the 2022 political season. Here in Oregon, that means a U.S. Senate race. Ron Wyden is running for a fifth full term. He is now one of the highest ranking Senators and chairs the Senate Finance Committee, which is responsible for amendments to the U.S. Tax Code, among other important roles! I think the world of Ron.

All our seats in Congressional races will be on the ballot next year — including our new Congressional District 6, with a growing lineup of potential candidates. I don’t need to tell you how important these elections will be, given the many challenges facing our nation and us as a people. 

At the statewide level, Oregon has five offices — not including statewide judicial offices. Only two of them — Governor and Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries — will be on the ballot next year. My office, as well as those of the Secretary of State and Treasurer, come up for election two years later.

As you know, and with sincere thanks to you, I was re-elected in 2020 to my third term as Oregon’s Attorney General and am just finishing up my first year of a new four-year term. The last was busy battling the insanity of Donald Trump in the White House, and I daresay we state attorneys general — both individually and as our own "justice league" — managed to prevent an awful lot of damage from occurring.

So you might think things would have slowed down since then. Honestly I find myself perhaps busier than I’ve ever been — directing incredibly important consumer protection and environmental litigation as well as leading statewide policy task forces on important topics as far-ranging as labor trafficking and consumer internet privacy. On top of that, my office soon will be undertaking the co-leadership of a legislatively prescribed commission to fast track the development of statewide rules for police conduct and discipline. This is on top of our bread and butter — providing legal advice to our client--the state of Oregon. Especially during the pandemic, this has been critically important.  It is all work that I love — and believe I am well-suited to. 

At the same time — and this is genuinely scary — Republican AGs  across the country are trying to increase their numbers in 2022; we are now about evenly split. If a state does not have a Democratic AG, that state will be on the wrong side in litigation involving climate change, reproductive freedom, and of course, voting rights and election protection. And that’s just the beginning!

This means my office, and others, are busy fighting back with amicus (friend of the court) briefs, comments and other available legal tools.

In the midst of all this — and with our current Governor term-limited — I gave very serious thought to throwing my name in the ring for governor in next year’s election. I polled Oregon Democratic voters and was pleasantly surprised by the results. I also felt I’d been effective as attorney general and could provide the state with the leadership it so dearly needs and deserves. 

This kind of thinking is inescapable in politics, and my team and many friends urged me forward almost as soon as I was re-elected last fall. At the same time, my office needs to be as non-political and nonpartisan as possible, so I tried my best to keep a lid on these discussions. But I have to say, each time I broached the idea further, I'd come back to the basic realization that I am more a lawyer at heart than a politician. I did not want to give up this work that I love for another office, even Governor. 

Given that my name has been mentioned frequently as a potential candidate and given that election season is now clearly upon us, today I posted a video announcement of my decision not to run for governor.

As hard as it was to finally make it, and, even harder to make it public, I am at peace with this decision. 

So now, as the People’s Attorney in Oregon, I look forward to continuing the fight for justice and the legal rights of everyone in our state, particularly the most vulnerable among us. And I commit myself, in my role as the independently elected chief legal officer of the state, to providing Oregon’s next Governor with the “gold standard” of legal advice and guidance that is a hallmark of my office.

Most important, as I’ve said many times before in these emails and when we're together — and mean to the core of my being — having you by my side in this job is an incredible blessing. You give my work special meaning. I say this with sincere appreciation for your understanding, your support, and your friendship. We have much to do going forward, together! 

Thank you!

PS: Here's my video announcement!