Candidates emphasize consumer protection, mental‑health and tribal relations

Consumer protection, data privacy and mental‑health care were recurring themes at the WSU Tri‑Cities forum, with candidates laying out specific priorities for the attorney general’s office.

Manka Dhingra highlighted consumer protection and data privacy as top priorities, citing her data‑privacy bill 'My Health, My Data' and more than 200 endorsements statewide. She said the AG should be a statewide champion for mental‑health services and urged resolution of the Trueblood lawsuit, which she described as imposing significant costs on hospitals and affecting people with serious mental illness.

Nick Brown described the Consumer Protection Division as the AG’s most public‑facing arm and said the office should keep using litigation and enforcement to protect marginalized populations. He also said the AG’s civil‑rights tools can be used to enforce access for people with disabilities.

Pete Serrano described representing hospital workers in employment matters and said the AG can advise the legislature and help advocate for legislation such as safe‑staffing laws, while also pushing for enforcement when state agencies fail to meet duties, including education enforcement (IEPs) and services for people with special needs.

On tribal relations, candidates agreed to treat tribes as sovereign nations and to work collaboratively on cross‑jurisdictional issues such as environmental remediation, missing and murdered indigenous persons and public‑safety coordination. Dhingra cited work on a Native‑specific crisis line and a cold case unit as examples of AG‑level collaboration.

The discussion gave voters a clear view of where candidates would place emphasis: Dhingra on data privacy and mental‑health systems; Brown on consumer‑protection enforcement and civil rights; Serrano on advocacy for local workers and preserving services.