Dana Nessel acts like a leader in a hurry.
She has done a lot since being inaugurated nearly four months ago as Michigan's first Democratic attorney general since Jennifer Granholm left that office in 2003.
Dana Nessel: "As action-oriented as I possibly can be." (Photo: WWTV-WWUP)
Riley Beggin of Bridge describes how Nessel "plows through Lansing:"
Since taking office in January, the Democrat ... has come out swinging in an effort to turn her liberal politics into policy.
She's systematically reversed the state's legal posture on abortion, the environment and LGBTQ rights set by her conservative predecessor Bill Schuette; joined other states in challenging Trump administration policies; thrown shade at the lawmaking skills of state Republicans, and, for good measure, taken on the Catholic church.
“Quiet’s not really my thing," the attorney general told a Planned Parenthood conference in Lansing last week, Begin reports.
In an email to Bridge, Nessel casts herself as a crusader for a new era:
"My goal is to re-establish this office as the people's attorney, aggressively protecting people’s rights, pocketbooks, health, welfare and safety. . . .
"I am committed to be as action-oriented as I possibly can be on a number of fronts. I am working hard to restore the integrity of the office and commitment to the people that was epitomized by long-time Attorney General Frank Kelley."
"I am working hard to restore the integrity of the office." (Photo: Facebook)
Under a headline describing her as "Michigan's brash attorney general," the reporter lists highlights of her whilrwind start:
- Nessel released a legal opinion that says a Republican-passed plan to build a tunnel for the Line 5 oil pipeline is unconstitutional.
- She reached a settlement requiring any agency that contracts with the state to allow same-sex adoptions.
- She joined mostly Democratic attorneys general in 27 federal cases or statements to support environmental, women’s health, immigration and education policies.
- She created an elder abuse task force and auto insurance fraud unit, plus units to investigate hate crimes and wrongful convictions.
- She dropped 11 jobs she described as "political appointments" by her Repubican predecessor.
Among Begin's six quoted sources is political scientist Paul Nolette of Marquette University, who says:
"She's taken a pretty aggressive posture in reversing what her predecessor did."
