Former Assistant Attorney General and state House Speaker Tom Leonard said he stands alone as the only candidate with prior experience within the Attorney General’s office.

To promote accountability in government agencies, Leonard proposes a public integrity officer to oversee the office’s Public Integrity Unit. This unit collaborates with citizens to watchdog government agencies for illegal acts.

Though Leonard is personally opposed to all three proposals on the ballot this year, he said he will be a “rule of law” attorney general, defending and upholding any and all of the proposals if passed.

What will you do for students in Michigan?

“Within that Public Integrity Unit, I believe that would be something a student could go to, to get help if for some reason something is going on at the university and they don’t know who to go to or how to get help.”

“The state taxpayers have a huge say in what happens at Michigan State. I believe that Public Integrity Unit could apply to universities as well. If you’re having an issue — you’re being improperly treated by somebody at the administration or a professor — certainly you could come to that Public Integrity Unit to look into your situation.”

What do you bring to the Attorney General’s office?

“When I’m elected attorney general, it will be the first time we’ve actually elected somebody that has experience there. I know how the office functions. I’ll be ready to hit the ground running on day one. ... I’m still going to have a lot of connections and have a lot of personal relationships with the legislators in Lansing on both sides of the aisle. I know how it works. If the attorney general’s office needs extra funding, or if we need to solve a problem, we need legislative action.”

What do you intend to do on your first day in office?

“Day one would be appointing that state integrity officer to oversee the Public Integrity Unit. Also, within days, I want to sit down with the special prosecutor on the Flint water crisis as well as the top deputies that have been handling that case to determine the best way forward to achieve justice for the victims of Flint.”

Why are environmental issues a large part of your campaign?

“I would say I have a history of real solutions and results as it relates to the environment. One of the top environmental issues out there right now is Line 5 running under the Straits (of Mackinac). ... I’m the one that worked with the governor to find a real solution and a real result to solve this problem. Now we are in the process of getting a tunnel dug that the taxpayers aren’t going to have to pay for.”

Democrat Dana Nessel

Spending her legal career as a prosecutor and then as a defense attorney, Dana Nessel said she has campaigned for the defense of civil rights and prosecution of hate crimes.

Nessel is in support of marijuana legalization and offering commutations — but not necessarily expungements — for those serving sentences on marijuana-related charges. She said she supports Proposals 2 and 3, to create an independent redistricting commission and expand voters’ rights, as well.

What will you do for students in Michigan?

“I think one of the most important things that the AGs (attorneys general) can do for the consumer protection standpoint is to protect student loan borrowers because we know the vast majority of people who seek higher education, they have to take out student loans. We need to be able to protect those loan borrowers, make sure they’re not getting ripped off.”

What do you bring to the Attorney General’s office?

“Beyond my wide berth of experience, it’s really just my policies. The policies I’m going to put into place are actually going to be helpful to people and help protect people in this state. My opponent can’t offer any of those things.”

What do you intend to do on your first day in office?

“What I have wanted to do is file for injunctive relief to shut down Line 5. That was my biggest priority. I’m not going to be reckless about it; I’m going to file the best suit possible. If that means that instead of my first day in office, it’s the 10th day in office, the 20th day in office, then so be it. I want to get it filed as quickly as possible, but of course I want it to be an iron-clad lawsuit.”

Why are environmental issues a large part of your campaign?

“We haven’t had anybody enforcing environmental laws in this state in such a long time and it’s so concerning to me. That hasn’t been the area I’ve practiced in, but I’m a citizen just like everybody else. I’m a Michigan resident like everybody else. I drink the water here, I breathe the air here and I’m really concerned.”