The NY Times Endorses Zephyr Teachout for NY Attorney General

[DinahMoeHum]

Zephyr Teachout Is the Right Choice as Attorney General for Democrats
The office is a potential firewall against an out-of-control president and a historically corrupt New York State government.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/19/opinion/zephyr-teachout-new-york-attorney-general.html

The most important choice facing New York voters this fall is whom they will pick as their next state attorney general. The office could be the last line of defense against an antidemocratic president, a federal government indifferent to environmental and consumer protection and a state government in which ethics can seem a mere inconvenience.

These are not the best of times. With the right leadership, the office could serve as a firewall if President Trump pardons senior aides, dismisses the special counsel, Robert Mueller, or attacks the foundations of state power. Only a handful of American institutions are equipped to resist such assaults on constitutional authority, and the New York attorney general’s office, with 650 lawyers and a history of muscular law enforcement, is one of them.

From a refreshingly strong field competing in the Democratic primary, to be held on Sept. 13, the best candidate is Zephyr Teachout, an independent-minded lawyer unusually well prepared to curb abuses of power and restore integrity and pride to this office. Ms. Teachout waged a strong primary challenge against Mr. Cuomo four years ago, lending her additional credibility and distance from a governor who remains all too cozy with the donors, contractors, union leaders and influence peddlers who dominate Albany and beyond.

A Fordham Law School professor and activist, she’s widely respected among lawyers and academics. She’s known as a thoughtful and innovative scholar who has been a pioneering thinker in the legal case against Trump’s entanglements with foreign favor-seekers who are lining his pockets through his hotels, golf courses and other private holdings. We are persuaded she will not let a focus on the Trump administration detract her from other efforts on behalf of New York, including securing tenants’ rights and voting rights and pursuing criminal justice reform.

Ms. Teachout has written the book on political corruption — literally — and is recognized as a national expert on this scourge.

https://www.amazon.com/Corruption-America-Benjamin-Franklins-Citizens/dp/0674659988/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534718727&sr=1-1&keywords=zephyr+teachout+corruption+in+america

Much much more at the link:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/19/opinion/zephyr-teachout-new-york-attorney-general.html

[disndat]

1. the NYT mentioned

that Letitia James accepted a big fund raiser from Cuomo's cronies. Not a good sign of
James' independence from Cuomo as Atty. General.