SALT LAKE CITY — On KVNU’s For the People program on Tuesday, Utah Attorney General candidate Derek Brown said if you are going to be a leader, you have to be prepared to stand up to other high government officials, such as the governor, senate president or Speaker of the House.
“I’ve actually done it. I mean, when I was in the House of Representatives, when I was the state party chair, when I worked with Senator (Mike) Lee. Like literally, the governor and I had disagreements on many occasions, and we are good friends, we know each other well.
“But I think that also contributes to the fact that we can have really pointed disagreements, and then when it’s over, we may not agree, we’re still friends but we may not agree,” he explained.
Brown said one of the things that keeps coming up in the race is whether the attorney general job should be an appointed position.
“The hardest part for a lot of people running for office (is) just fundraising. So, if you have an appointed position, then you don’t have to fundraise, it’s pretty simple.
“But, then you also, you’re being appointed by someone, and the reality is – who are you accountable to ultimately, it’s not to the voters, it’s to the person appointing you. So that’s why I’ve always been a big proponent of an independent attorney general.”
He said that’s where you have what he calls a fractured executive branch where you have the governor and the A.G. both of whom are independently elected, both of whom are accountable to the people who put them there, and both have a degree of independence.