Bangor defense attorney and state Rep. Aaron Frey won a hotly contested nomination for state attorney general on Tuesday, beating four other candidates after four rounds of voting by the Democratic caucus.In a process unique to Maine, the Legislature elects three constitutional officers on Wednesday — the attorney general, the secretary of state and the state treasurer. The Democratic Party’s nominees are favored to win.
Frey stressed that he will follow the efforts of current Attorney General Janet Mills, the governor elect, to challenge polices of President Donald Trump that he says will hurt Maine.
“The Trump administration poses some really significant challenges to the way in which we live here in Maine. That administration continues to promulgate polices that are inconsistent with our Maine values,” he said.
Frey said he plans to join with attorneys general from other states to bring legal action to curtail efforts by the Trump administration to weaken the nation’s environmental laws. He says there are other national legal issues that pose huge risks to Maine involving the role of large corporations.
“There are corporate actors that take financial advantage of our citizens, pollute our environment and poison us with legal pharmaceuticals,” he said. “We can do better.”
Democrats also nominated Secretary of State Matt Dunlap for another term and former state representative and lawyer Henry Beck of Waterville as state treasurer.
Dunlap and Frey will be unopposed in Wednesday’s full vote because Democrats hold strong majorities in both houses, and Republican leaders have said they will not nominate any candidates. Independent State Treasurer Terry Hayes, however, says she has lined up lawmakers to nominate her from the floor, so Beck is likely to face a challenge at the joint convention Wednesday afternoon.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Frey's last name.
