WHERE I STAND

Fellow Nevadans,

I wanted to make sure you were among the first to know that I am running for Attorney General of Nevada. In the last few years, the Attorney General’s office in Nevada has become a vehicle to promote partisan politics and advance an extreme, ideological agenda that is far outside the mainstream. Nevadans deserve better from their top law enforcement officer. I will be an Attorney General who always puts your families first.

Our country is facing a more uncertain political climate than we’ve seen in decades. Partisan polarization has created an environment that lacks civil discourse and amplifies divisions. That’s why it’s more important than ever to have an Attorney General who will put politics aside and focus on using all the legal tools necessary to protect Nevada’s families -- many of whom rightly feel like the system is rigged against them.

When I was a kid, the dream of going to college or buying a home seemed out of reach. My father Larry was a produce worker at a Safeway grocery store until the chain withdrew from Texas in the mid-1980s. My mother Denise worked various jobs throughout my childhood. Our family spent many nights wondering if the gas, electricity and water would turn on the next day. I didn’t understand how we could all be working so hard, yet couldn’t seem to get ahead.

When my parents divorced, my mom told me I would have to be the “man of the house,” which required me to look after my siblings and make sure our house was in order while she worked nights. Despite these added responsibilities, she insisted that I never fall back on my studies and always keep my “head in the books!”

I might not have realized my full potential, but I had a mom whose dreams for me expanded beyond the neighborhood block I grew up on. She signed me up for “Project Upward Bound,” a Saturday-school and summer program dedicated to helping students who could be the first in their family to graduate from college. With encouragement and guidance, I received a scholarship to Texas A&M University, and ultimately became the first in my family to graduate from college.

After graduating, I moved to Austin, Texas, with my wife Berna and our son Avery, where I worked as a middle school math teacher while Berna finished her law degree. A year later, we moved to Washington, D.C., so that I could continue my education at George Washington University, where I worked as a high school teacher while earning a master’s degree in international education.

My mother’s constant reminder to keep my “head in the books” must have really worked, because our next journey as a family took us to Columbus, Ohio, where I pursued and received a master’s degree in educational administration, a law degree and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from The Ohio State University.

To provide for our family during that time, I held five jobs: teaching high school math; waiting tables at Outback Steakhouse; working at a local law firm; and performing research for two different professors. Berna held four jobs of her own. She clerked for a judge, sold clothes at Marshall Field's, served as a mediator and edited articles for a legal publication. Berna and I reflect on these days often, because they taught us so much about hard work and perseverance.

It could have been easy for a kid like me in the neighborhood I grew up in to fall through the cracks, to become just another statistic. The commitment of my mother, the endless support of my wife, and programs like “Project Upward Bound” helped me manage to seize opportunities that came my way. It also made me realize the importance of having champions in my corner.

Across our state, there are Nevadans who are struggling to pay the bills, trying to juggle work while raising a family, battling addiction, growing up in unsafe neighborhoods, or being taken advantage of by unscrupulous scammers and lenders. These Nevadans deserve a champion in their corner too -- someone who will finally stick up for them. That’s why I became a legislator in the first place, and that’s why I’m running for Attorney General.

My mom taught me there is no challenge too big that can’t be overcome through hard work and a commitment to doing what’s right. It’s that same attitude that we need guiding our Attorney General’s office. There is no criminal too ruthless and no corporation too powerful that I won’t take on if they are hurting Nevadans.

You’ll be able to rely on me to uphold the rule of law and act as the last line of defense against anyone who tries to take an unconstitutional action or threaten the principles and rights of Nevadans.

As a state Senator, I fought to protect Nevadans and help them keep the money they worked hard for and earned. I pushed to pass paid sick leave, cracked down on payday lenders, and passed the strongest pharmaceutical transparency bill in the nation. I helped lead the effort to bring rooftop solar energy back to Nevada, which has already created countless good-paying jobs across our state.

I’ve also worked to reform our justice system by being both tough and smart on crime. I believe Nevada’s Attorney General should take the same approach -- focusing on going after violent criminals and drug dealers, supporting victims of crime, reducing recidivism and improving mental health and substance abuse programs. I will also ensure that our justice system is efficient and effective by increasing transparency and analyzing data to see what’s working and what’s not.

To the brave law enforcement officers and first responders keeping Nevada safe: I will fight to ensure you have the resources necessary to combat crime and the protections in place to stay safe on the job. In Carson City, I worked to increase penalties for criminals who attack our law enforcement officers, because anyone who targets those who put their lives on the line to protect our communities should be punished to the full extent of the law.

As Attorney General, I’ll keep Nevadans safe and work to help strengthen the middle class by standing up to anyone who tries to take advantage of them. I’ll take on scammers who rip off our seniors, insurance companies who deny care, polluters who poison our air and water, and criminals and drug dealers who prey on our families. I’ll also fight for vulnerable communities who are being targeted by the federal government, including the 13,000 DACA recipients living and working in Nevada. I will be the people’s Attorney General.

Critics will look at my goals and claim it can’t be done. My promise to you is that I will never forget the lessons I learned as a kid: there is no goal too lofty, no challenge too big, no mountain too high if we are committed to doing what’s right.

Over the course of this campaign, I will be traveling across the state to listen to my fellow Nevadans, hear your concerns and develop comprehensive solutions that are right for your community. I look forward to our conversations, and to earning your support.

All my best,

Aaron Ford^[14]

Safer Nevada Plan

The first job of Nevada’s Attorney General is to keep people safe. I am running for Attorney General because I want to make Nevada the safest place to raise a family.

The Attorney General is responsible for prosecuting dangerous criminals, protecting consumers from deceptive business practices, and everything in between. It’s a job that takes leadership and requires constant teamwork across numerous law enforcement agencies throughout Nevada. I have traveled to every county in Nevada and discussed law enforcement priorities with the officers who actually patrol your neighborhood. I’m proud to be the only candidate endorsed by our sheriffs, police chiefs, district attorneys and prosecutors in Nevada, and I have used their feedback to build an outline of how we can make Nevada a safer place for all of us to live.

TOUGH ON CRIME:

Violent crime, often perpetrated by hardened career criminals, can only be deterred by the prospect of real punishment. I believe we need to toughen sentencing standards for violent criminals, home invaders, domestic and elder abusers. These are brutal, premeditated crimes that tear at the fabric of our communities. When it comes to committing such crimes in Nevada, every criminal should know one thing:

Hard criminals will serve hard time – period.

SMART ON CRIME:

A large percentage of police interactions occur in proximity to mental illness (this often occurs when someone represents a threat to themselves or others during a mental health crisis, and sometimes breaking a law). Someone calls 9-1-1 and, too often, these people end up in jails or traditional emergency rooms that are not equipped to properly diagnose or treat them. Often times, the same individuals end up in the same jails and emergency rooms, again and again, at taxpayer expense. As your next Attorney General, I want to reform this wasteful cycle and get our police officers back on patrol in our communities. There are effective mental health resources that already work well in some parts of our state which we should replicate, including psychiatric ERs and Mobile Outreach Safety Teams (MOST).

In terms of breaking the cycle of domestic violence, Nevada’s biggest missing link is transitional housing for victims of domestic abuse. Nevada is the second worst state in the U.S. for men killing women – an unacceptable and wholly preventable statistic. In Nevada, abuse victims must be able to swiftly escape from dangerous situations – which means housing arrangements that allow children, some pets and other potential victims. These are small changes, but they save lives.

Being smart on crime also means knowing how to put plans into action without breaking the bank for taxpaying Nevadans. As the First Assistant Attorney General of Nevada from 2015 to 2017, I served as Vice Chair of the Sexual Assault Kit Working Group. Our mission was to clear a backlog of 8,000 untested sexual assault kits from around our state. Some of these kits dated back to the 1980s. We did just that, and we didn’t charge the taxpayer a single penny. Instead, we did the hard work of securing a mix of federal grants and state settlement funds to pay for the thousands of DNA tests required to clear the backlog.

The result: over a dozen arrests have resulted from testing those backlogged kits.

Nevada got a little bit safer.

EARLY INTERVENTION:

Most crime is not committed by hardened criminals or the mentally ill. As your Attorney General, I will partner with local communities to foster the development of after-school programs and youth outreach to prevent the root causes of crime. The classroom is where our kids develop social skills, make friends, and learn to work together. After-school programs are a healthy way to build on those schoolhouse lessons.

In Nevada, plenty of character-building youth organizations exist beyond the school yard as well. Organizations like the Las Vegas Metro Police Explorers, community sports leagues, After School All Stars, the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets, and many others.

A big part of crime prevention involves giving young people something healthy to fill the space where criminality so often develops. We should be proactive in meeting that challenge. As your Attorney General, I will make partnering with community organizations a priority.

MY PROMISE

All of these plans have one major thing in common: partnership.

A good Attorney General is someone who engages every entity responsible for public safety, in each unique community, and keeps up a continuous dialogue to understand how to best support them. In this way, the Attorney General is also among the best positioned to learn and spread best practices across our state and ensure that we are keeping what works and scraping what doesn’t. A good Attorney General is a servant-leader.

As a military officer and as the former First Assistant Attorney General, I have spent my life in public service building and maintaining those kinds of relationships. I believe that is why I have the endorsement of Nevada law enforcement.

I promise that, first and foremost, I will be a partner to your community. That is how we will make Nevada the safest place to raise a family.^[14]