Rep. Keith Ellison is no stranger to high-profile roles and offices of influence.
In his sixth term as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Ellison may be the most widely known member of the Minnesota congressional delegation-a reputation cemented, in part, by his place in history as the first Muslim elected to Congress and his ascendancy to deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee, as well as appearances with prominent figures like Sen. Bernie Sanders in recent months.
But, instead of continuing in the office he's occupied since 2006, Ellison acted upon the announcement by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson that she would not seek a fourth term and instead make a bid for governor.
Just hours after Swanson's last-minute announcement, Ellison gave one of his own: He intends to trade his congressional seat for the role of state attorney general, entering the race June 5. In doing so, Ellison's candidacy added more spotlights to a crowded field of DFLers running for the office-to say little of the three Republican candidates vying in the GOP primary.
Ellison stopped by Brainerd Friday, July 20, and sat down with the Dispatch to discuss his candidacy.
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"I feel called to run for (Minnesota) attorney general because I think I can help more people and I can help them quicker then I can as a member of Congress," said Ellison, who noted it's an arduous, time-consuming process to accrue enough votes in the House, then pass legislation through the Senate and the presidency before it makes tangible improvements. "It's very difficult, now, to deliver those good results that people need, but as a state AG you can stand next to people as they're confronting the powerful interests that sometimes roll right over them."
Ellison pointed to the actions of state attorneys general across the country in terms of defending the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), challenging the Federal Communications Commission's improper procedures around net neutrality, as well as successful suits against President Donald Trump's travel bans and controversial border policies-issues, he noted, the federal government did little to nothing to influence of its own volition.
"That's what state AGs are able to do," Ellison said. "That's where I want to be, that's where I want to bring my energies. ... The AG is the people's lawyer that stands next to them against powerful interests. I have the strongest record of doing that, whether it's legislatively, whether it's as a public interest lawyer, whether it's as a community advocate."
Originally of Detroit, Ellison, 54, comes from a family of five children raised by a mother who was a social worker mother and a father who worked as a psychiatrist. After graduating Wayne State University with a degree of economics, he went to the University of Minnesota Law School. Upon graduating from there in 1990, he embarked on a law career in various private, nonprofit and public sector roles-all, he noted, involving some form of criminal defense and civil rights litigation.
He spent two terms between 2003 and 2006 in the state Legislature before making his bid for Congress In 2006. In addition, he served as the executive director of The Legal Rights Center in Minneapolis. He shares four children with Kim Ellison, whom he was married to from 1987 to 2012.
Ellison said he has all the right ingredients to be an effective Minnesota attorney general-16 years of trial litigation experience, previous roles in which he managed offices of lawyers under his authority, and he is the only candidate with significant national clout.
In a five-way race between Mike Rothman (the former state commissioner of commerce), Minneapolis lawyer Matt Pelikan, former Ramsey County attorney Tom Foley and state Rep. Debra Hilstrom, Ellison noted many of these candidates bring plenty of legal experience to the table.
What they lack, he said, are his connections throughout Congress he developed over 12 years, as well as important relationships with state attorneys general including Xavier Becerra of California, Bob Ferguson of Washington state, Karl Racine of Washington, D.C., and Maura Healey of Massachusetts. By banding together, state attorneys general are able to more effectively defend the rights of their constituents, Ellison noted, and a great deal of recent national political moves have been typified by these coalitions.
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Ellison said-beyond an emphasis on human and civil rights he's fought for during his entire career in public offices-consumer protections stand as a paramount issue for him, noting he helped pass legislation creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2011.
"It's returned $12.5 billion to consumers," said Ellison, who added he's also fought against bank practices of universal default for credit card holders. "Which consumers? Well, veterans, singers, students-regular folks."
Wealth inequality-"Balancing the economic scales," as he put it-looms as an issue Ellison said he would look to address. He noted while tax cuts have led to better returns and policies by the Trump administration bolster the economy, the way society is currently structured means most of that wealth goes to the business elite and wages for common workers remain stagnant or actually decreased.
"There's too much market concentration. There's few industries that have real competition, most of them have two or three companies," Ellison said. "Look at Amazon, they dominate online retail and now they're into Whole Foods (Market). If you're going to get an ibuprofen today, you're either going to be dealing with Walgreens or CVS (Pharmacy) because all the other ones have been gobbled up."
This not only means that a choice few companies can dictate market values and the prices for services, Ellison said, it also means they can manhandle the workforce populating their facilities. He pointed to non-poaching agreements by supposedly rival companies to ensure workers have limited options and static wages, both of which benefit these corporations. Combating that, he said, would form part of his antitrust platform in a system currently rewarding illegal behavior.
If elected, Ellison said he would look for public input throughout the state through meetings in places like Bemidji, Brainerd, the Twin Cities, Mankato and others. He said he would have a robust outreach program to maintain a critical line of communication between any public office he operates and his constituents.
