Keir Bradford-Grey hails from the Philadelphia area, where she leads the public defenders office. Her priorities, if elected Attorney General, are reducing gun violence, consumer protections in healthcare, and consumer protections in housing. Below is a transcript of an interview where we asked Keir 6 different questions about her positions and thoughts on the race for Attorney General.

 

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What is a short job description of the office of attorney general?

I love that question because many people don't know what they do. And I always tell them the Attorney General is what we call the people's lawyer because it stands up for people in very different areas; whether it's from criminal enterprises, or whether it's defending their rights that are under the Pennsylvania State Constitution. And making sure that when they are buying things in the marketplace, they are protected from fraud, from harm and from discrimination.

So it has a very general authority to reach people at their most basic needs in all areas of their life where they are facing harm that threatens their security, opportunity and human dignity.

 

Why do you qualify to step into the role?

Because I've been doing this my whole career, really standing up for people at their most vulnerable against very powerful institutions. Going against well, resourced institutions and being successful. I come with a very practical understanding and awareness of how the law should be used to protect all communities.

I also have a leadership track record that is unmatched by anyone in this race. I have had the largest area of oversight than any opponent in this race. And I've been a transformational leader where I've come and operationalized a vision that has brought in the mission of an organization, an institution that has been very well founded but needed to understand the 21st Century way of delivering services through that justice system practice.

And so with my legal acumen with my leadership ability and with my knowledge and awareness of people and the struggles that they're going to through, I am the best one to use my vantage point to offer more protections to more people, for the Attorney General's office's resources.

What is that institution that you spent time at to expand their mission?

So I was the leader of the fourth largest public defender office in the nation and the largest county in the state. And that is the Defender Association of Philadelphia. And before that, I was the leader of the third largest public defender office in the state, and that was the Montgomery County Defender Office. And my leadership not only really expanded my leadership acumen, but really helped advance things in my local area.

But I was also recognized as a national leader, really advancing better practices that improve public safety through the role of the public defender. So in my as the chief defender of Philadelphia, I oversaw a staff of over 535 people and a budget of over 50 million. So that is a very large experience that is a very vast experience that I've had that I can bring to the office of the Attorney General.

Because we brought up public safety, the idea of being tough on crime, some people are for it, some against. What's your take on that?

Yeah. So I think you got to be balanced in your justice system delivery because every nuance and every person is individual and where there needs to be a tough stance taken because a deterrent effect needs to be given and the person's harms were that impactful and that needs to happen. But where we need to have some balance and understanding and awareness of why someone came here and what's the best opportunity to keep this person on a straight, narrow path, we need to provide those things.

Because at the end of the day, most people are coming back to their communities and if we're not giving them an opportunity to succeed, then they're only going to be a detriment. I know what that looks like. I know the system strengths and weaknesses, and I know how to target the resources appropriately and go hard when I need to and have more understanding and awareness and balance when I need to. But one things for sure, if I pick the fights, if I pick the targets, those prosecutions will be fair and final.

 

What are your priorities if you take the office?

So my priorities are to look at really helping to be a good partner in reducing gun violence by going after the threats that allow access to guns for people that should not have those. Those are the legal drug gun sellers, the illegal gun dealers, people who have a license to sell that, turn a blind eye or sell negligently to people who should not have guns.

And we want to make sure we defend common sense gun laws and ensure that everyone who has their rights are following our laws that are already on the books. There's not enough scrutiny in there.

I also want to make sure that our health care access is protected that insurance companies are not denying health care coverage to people who really need them. They're not denying health care coverage, whether it's mental or physical health, to people with preexisting conditions, and that there's no fraud in our health care process or discrimination among people in certain communities.

Health care equity is going to be important And as a woman, my rights for health care are going to be utmost importance when people are deciding whether or not they should give me the opportunity to choose what I should do with my own body.

And lastly, just for a third one, which, you know, the opportunities are ubiquitous, but I'll say this. Financial protections are going to be a big deal and big area because many people are having a hard time affording their lives. And there are too many people that are getting away with price gouging people on unnecessary things that they need to just carry on with their ordinary lives; whether it's price gouging and medication price gouging and household items price gouging and insurances or price gouging and rental properties.

These are things that are really keeping people from living a quality life. And we've got to provide more protection for them.

 

What is something about the current administration you would change and/or keep the same?

So I do love what the current attorney general is doing in terms of really looking at all of the consumer protections and how to use those to help people in more vulnerable situations where they have no one to turn to. But one of the things that I would expand, because this has been the hallmark of my leadership, is being far more community oriented, going out and being more educational and helping people become aware of the role of the attorney general, the resources the office has and gathering information from them about what is happening to them and how we use this role collaboratively.

I want to be more of an effective collaborator with every single region in our state, whether you're in rural or urban areas, you've got to know that you have a connection to the attorney general. And I will want to have regional community liaisons that make sure that we connect with people in those areas to understand the harms and the problems that they're dealing with so we can target our resources appropriately and really work with people who have been committed to the issues that they care so deeply about.

What do you have that your other primary candidates do not?

Well, everything about me is different in terms of my vantage point in how I solve problems. I have been a committed problem solver. Because I understand auto negotiation, because my prior experience really taught and trained me well to understand when I don't have the leg up or when I do. And that has generally been a public defender's life to make sure that you're able to get the best result possible for all the people involved, whether that's the system as a whole or the community.

And I have been an effective collaborator across the aisle where I've been able to get things done without a title, without all the credibility and without all the resources. I am a transformational leader. I am a creative leader. And you cannot negate my gender and my my my ethnicity. Allows me an opportunity to invite more people into the protections of that office.

So I see more people in the most vulnerable states because some of my experiences mirror those who feel like they've been looked over, passed over or devalued. I can see that. And I can ensure that anyone has ever felt that way. Well, have a better sense of awareness and a better sense of pride because they'll see the good work of this office and they'll be connected, respected and protected by that office.

 

What is a topic/discussion point around the office of Attorney General and what is your take on it?

The most important discussion, I guess, would be the breadth of the office and how to allocate those resources. Like, what are you going to be able to do practically to ensure that you're being an agency that is actually caring for the needs? And I respond that this office is set up in a multifaceted way.

It can take care of its prosecutorial ends. It can take care of its consumer protection lens, and it can take care of its civil rights areas. We just got to know and have the people that are in that office that have the expertize so we can cut through the chase efficiently. And effectively and using those areas that people know very well that we will be hiring the best of the best and the brightest of the brightest to help do this work.

It's going to be critical. So knowing how to recruit, knowing how to use the existing talent that you have and really knowing how to lead a large organization So, you know, look, there's going to be a lot of things that come up voting rights. If Trump loses, we know we're going to be dealing with all of this election denial and fraud issues women's rights, women's equity, health equity are going to be on the ballot making sure people have stability, whether it's health care, financial stability or housing and environmental justice.

These are all the things that the office's already equipped to deal with. And we're going to make sure we show people that we can walk and chew gum at the same time.