Former MN Attorney General Miles Lord endorses Lori Swanson for AG

Posted at 2:16 PM on August 1, 2006 by Tom Scheck

Lori Swanson is one of three DFLers running for attorney general. State Senator Steve Kelley and former Congressman Bill Luther are the others. Here's the letter:

To the Members of the DFL State Central Committee:

I am writing to you as an active democrat of over sixty years and as an attorney having served for six years as attorney general, six years as federal district attorney and twenty years ending as the chief federal judge of Minnesota. While I remain active on public issues, I have never felt compelled to write the members of the State Central Committee to urge an action. This year the race for attorney general has had an unprecedented withdrawal by the party’s candidate and the quality of his replacement becomes more crucial than ever to the ticket.
A little history is in order concerning the health care issue and the attorney general’s office.
When I served as attorney general, I authorized formation of the first non-profit health care provider in Minnesota. It was a significant breakthrough in the delivery of health care to participating Minnesotans, offering quality health care at substantial saving. Because the profit motive was eliminated, doctors could deliver their services more efficiently. It worked well for decades for administrators, doctors, patients and those paying for the services.
No one could imagine at that time that these so-called "non-profits" would ultimately use the non-profit shell authorized by the state to engage in behavior for their personal financial gain, and against the public interest.
For the past seven years the state of Minnesota, under Attorney General Hatch's leadership, has investigated and brought lawsuits against this industry to correct the abuses and restore the non-profits to their original mission of delivering quality health care to their patients.
The person who led the state's efforts in the courtroom was Solicitor General Lori Swanson. She directed the investigations, prepared and filed the lawsuits, conducted the discovery, and did the heavy lifting in the courtroom. As Solicitor General she was the person directly responsible for the trial work and she supervised the state's case against the defendants who abused the public’s trust. She had great success and her work is widely respected by the legal community. I applaud her skill and commitment.
Minnesotans are well aware and grateful for the great successes that have been achieved, but much remains to be done. There are important cases pending, including the investigation of UnitedHealth Group and the billions of dollars that have been siphoned off into stock options for the top executives.
Now, we have an election and Lori Swanson is seeking to be elected attorney general. While the other candidates have largely legislative backgrounds, there is no one with more hands-on
knowledge of these investigations than Solicitor General Swanson. In these lawsuits she has proven to be an effective, tough-minded and aggressive litigator. (A special note about Bill Luther. My family and I have always financially supported Bill in his campaigns. He is a worthy political leader.) However, the uniqueness of the circumstances this time causes me to choose another direction. Bill has been a skilled legislative leader. Lori is the trial lawyer handling the very litigation that is so important. This is a vital distinction.
As a former federal judge, district attorney and attorney general, I believe I can speak with some authority on the need for continuity in conducting major litigation and winning the cases at hand. If Lori Swanson is elected, the state's work will proceed on schedule without delay and I am confident of winning results. We should not change horses in mid-stream.
I am therefore announcing my whole-hearted and enthusiastic support for the candidacy of Solicitor General Lori Swanson for the DFL nomination for attorney general of Minnesota.
We have an opportunity to elect a woman of high legal accomplishment and talent to continue the important work of the attorney general’s office in delivering quality heath care to the people of Minnesota through its work on managed health care providers.
The selection of the next attorney general should be based primarily on quality of legal talent and trust. I know and trust this lawyer. Her campaign is not about politics or a political career. Lori is seeking this office to continue her work running the consumer protection division. I stand with her and I urge all of you to give her candidacy every consideration.

Sincerely,

Miles W. Lord

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