Alan Gordon is running to be Rhode Island’s next attorney general. He says his lack of fundraising, as evidenced by a $25 balance in his campaign account as of the last filing, makes him more trustworthy than standard candidates.
It also reflects the West Greenwich resident’s status as an unconventional candidate running as a Republican against Democrat Kim Ahern in the race to succeed term-limited Attorney General Peter Neronha.
On his website, Gordon said he’s running to defend constitutional rights, improve trust in government and ensure equal justice under the law.
Gordon spoke with Ocean State Media political reporter Ian Donnis about why he’s running.
Interview highlights
On why he is running for attorney general
Alan Gordon: The key focus of this campaign and why I'm running is the attorney general's office is supposed to be run neutrally and without favor.
The outgoing attorney general has been heavily criticized for politicizing the office, standing up for the rights of people in his party in a state where there's more independents than Democrats and Republicans combined. And so I've come up with a plan to bring back neutrality and impartiality to that office. So it can be like the days of when Arlene Violet was the attorney general and took off her nun's habit and really ran that office neutrally and without favor.
Editor’s note: Neronha said his lawsuits against the Trump administration, filed alongside other Democratic attorneys general, are based on alleged violations of law, not partisan politics.
Why Gordon chose not to seek admission to the Rhode Island Bar
Gordon: I never meant to practice public law in Rhode Island. I came here in part to practice private or ecclesiastical or church law. Never had any intention of practicing law here. Then Peter Neronha, first as U.S. attorney, then as the state attorney general, brought more than two dozen false criminal charges against my campaign manager and I. We defeated them all in court, every single one of them, but there were five major arrest groups, three home raids, very serious charges. So I ended up practicing public law, representing myself against the combined might of the U.S. Attorney's Office and the state attorney general's office in state and federal court at the same time. Got a lot of litigation experience, but Rhode Island is one of several states that does not require the sitting attorney general to be a member of the bar prior to taking office.
Which current Rhode Island Republican he most admires
I think my own state senator, Elaine Morgan. She's courageous. She's a straight shooter. She's honest. She'll tell you what she thinks, and yet she'll listen to people with different opinions. She will really listen. And so I admire her greatly.
On a book or film influential to his political development
Gordon: The Bible.
Gordon’s latest campaign filing showed a balance of $25. On whether he is effectively a ‘protest’ candidate
Gordon: I say that the candidate with the least money is the one you can trust the most because I'm beholden to no one except the people of the state of Rhode Island that I'm pledging to run for.
I don't have any special interests backing me, and that leaves me purer as a candidate than my opponent, who's got some special interest backing.
