ADP Environmental Council – Zoom meeting September 19, 2021
Co-hosted by Rebecca Hinton and Nick Arnold featuring interviews with the three Democratic
candidates for Arizona Attorney General: Kris Mayes, Robert McWhirter and Diego Rodriguez.
Before the main interviews, Lauren Kuby gave a brief statement on why she is running (in association
with Sandra Kennedy) for the Arizona Corporation Commission. She stated that she is pro-renewables,
will ask the tough questions and is pushing community and rooftop solar. She appealed for $5
contributions to her clean elections fund.
The Attorney General candidate interviews were conducted as a series of questions with each candidate
given 2 minutes to respond to each. A synopsis of the questions and the candidate answers follows.
Q: Introduce yourselves to the audience.
Kris Mayes: I was the first candidate in AZ to make climate change a priority. Also, I was a
former AZ Corporation Commission (ACC) member who wrote the first renewable energy bill. If
elected, I will appoint a climate director within the AG department and will support ACC climate
initiatives.
Robert McWhirter: I have a history of standing up to Republican anti-democracy positions and
will demand acknowledgement that Biden won in 2020. The Arizona AG office has served
extreme right-wing political views for too long. I will be strong on reproductive rights, climate
change and criminal justice.
Diego Rodriguez: I am a state representative from district 27 and a former prosecutor with a
career dedicated to justice. If elected, I will push back on abortion rights, voting restrictions,
economic makeups in districts, criminal justice and policies that put money into donor pockets.
Q: What are your qualifications and experience?
Robert McWhirter: I am a criminal defense attorney in Phoenix and have been a supervisor in a
public defender’s office. I worked in El Salvador for justice reform and speak fluent Spanish.
Diego Rodriguez: I have owned and managed a law firm since 2008 and have managed law
clerks. I have worked on complex civil and criminal cases and dealt with all levels in the state
legislature.
Kris Mayes: I am the only candidate who has led the ACC (which is an entire branch of the AZ
government) during a time that it was called the best in 50 years. I am also the only one to have
won a state-wide election and to have fought APS, a $12 billion corporation, and won with the
Prop 427 effort. I currently lead two ASU programs as an attorney and professor on issues of
sustainability.
Q: What possible changes and/or priorities would you make in the AG office?
Diego Rodriguez: My priorities are voter privacy and the right to vote; private prisons and the
corruption in that system; policing reform; rooting out public corruption; and the re-
organization of the AG office.
Kris Mayes: I want to use the AG office to address climate change; fight the anti-democracy
forces by investigating the “fraudit”; be active in the reproductive rights issue as it comes to AZ;
restore core elements like elder abuse and child abuse not now typically being prosecuted. We
need every voter to be a climate voter.
Robert McWhirter: Voting equity is fundamental. Also, the death penalty budget needs to be
transparent (rather than withheld to avoid scrutiny). It is the job of the AG to make us safe from
harm, not to do the work of the political party to which the AG belongs.
Q: How do you prioritize environmental and climate justice?
Kris Mayes: I plan to work with the Navaho nation on their coal plant shutdowns and
transitions; make sure all communities have access to EV charging stations, etc.; and push the
ACC to intervene with a proposed 1000 MW gas plant in the state. I would increase the
Environmental Division in the AG’s office.
Robert McWhirter: There is consensus that global warming is real. We’re also at a point where
water (not oil) is likely to become the next big fight. I would support Native claims to water and
keep them at the table when water policies are considered.
Diego Rodriguez: I will approve only the rules I know and understand (not rubber stamp some
for purposes of getting elected). I have worked on climate justice around the state in the past,
so know my way around. Water and climate change are interrelated, so we must understand
that relationship.
Q: In the area of criminal justice reform, how would you work with the legislature? What are your
priorities?
Robert McWhirter: There are too many plea deals being made and the bail system needs to be
reformed (too many people choose a plea deal to avoid staying in jail). It costs the state
$46,000 for an un-convicted person to stay in jail for a year waiting for a court date. In some
cases, it is more expensive for a defendant to risk a trial, thus leading to the plea deals. Also,
convicted people should have their right to vote restored to ensure a full democracy.
Diego Rodriguez: In society, my priorities will be schools, policing, child services and family
issues. That means reforming many segments – policing, courts and prisons for a few. The Dept
of Corrections has a blank-check budget, so is not currently accountable. Resources need to go
to a better quality of life overall, not only to justice issues.
Kris Mayes: We need an AG win to enact two more reforms – 1) officers who use deadly force
need to be accountable to an AZ review board with broad membership; and 2) we need to
mandate more disclosure of official misconduct with an open list of those officers to make it
harder for them to simply find another job in another town.
Q: How will you address reproductive justice?
Diego Rodriguez: I will commit to that issue and have been endorsed by Planned Parenthood. I
will engage with representatives who mislead and dehumanize. We must keep up the pressure
because we know the other side will do so. I will stand up for AZ women. The AZ constitution
has a right to privacy provision, but it has never been litigated.
Kris Mayes: I will use every means to fight for reproductive healthcare. Also, I have been
endorsed by Arizona Lives. This issue will come at us quickly, so we need to be ready to defend
it in the AZ courts and the US Supreme Court. I my case, I had an IVF baby, which would be
criminalized by some recent laws. This is an outrage and is one of the fights of our time.
Robert McWhirter: As a constitutional historian, I can say that the Republicans are taking away
rights, not expanding them – a first in recent times. I will pledge to not prosecute any woman or
doctor on reproductive rights charges no matter what the US Supreme Court does with respect
to Roe v. Wade.
Q: Will you sign a pledge for no more fossil fuels?
All: Yes.
Q: Why are you the best candidate for the position of Attorney General?
Diego Rodriguez: I have been an attorney for 26 years and in the AZ legislature for 3 years. My
values match those of the Democratic party. Because of those values, I won’t cave to pressure.
When voters ask which candidate has done the job in their history, I can point to my
accomplishments.
Kris Mayes: We need someone with a track record of standing up to power. I have a lifetime
record regarding climate and water, and I was tough enough to defeat APS. In addition, I’m
running to defend all of Arizona, unlike our current AG who is defending Donald Trump.
Robert McWhirter: I’m obviously the humblest candidate. I’ve been an attorney for 30 years
with a history of standing up to power. There’s not much difference in the positions the three of
us take, so personal qualities will matter.
The October Zoom meeting will be on Sunday, Oct 17.
Submitted by Karolyn Switzer