Lori Hickman, a candidate for Idaho Attorney General running as a democrat, had an in-person interview with the Argonaut News Team on Sept. 15. Hickman is running a campaign that tries to differentiate the role of attorney general from the political atmosphere of the state.
“This is my first run for a political office … I choose to step into this race because the current attorney general has lost the trust … as the chief legal officer of the state, trust between your clients and being a reliable attorney that will provide sound, independent legal advice is paramount,” said Hickman.
When asked how she would operate outside of the party system, Hickman said, “You practice law, not politics, and so I would like to restore the office back to the way it used to be, which had Republican and Democrat Attorneys General who just gave out solid legal advice to their clients, the boards, the agencies, the legislature and weren’t worried about how it looked politically.”
When asked by the Argonaut, about how her campaign can connect to students specifically at the University of Idaho, “As all Vandals are coming into adulthood and figuring out your lives … whether you want to remain in Idaho, or you’re just here to go to school in Idaho … It’s the direction of our country, it’s the foundation of our democracy, it’s the rule of law and as the attorney general remaining true and steadfast to the rule of law and keeping that.”
Hickman has also listed protecting federal lands, Idaho water protections, preserving access to safe healthcare, protecting women’s access to healthcare and providing support to law enforcement as campaign priorities. In the interview, Hickman touched on a bill passed last session, House Bill 752.
“It’s highly controversial for a lot of reasons … Law enforcement came in and testified in the debates about that bill saying there is no teeth to this … As attorney general, I would be doing two things in the legislature, saying whoa … there is some deficiencies here, you’re going to face some challenges, and … if the law enforcement community is coming in and testifying against it, I would also be supporting them,” said Hickman.
Hickman’s webpage also promotes the “right to have a free, uniform and thorough” public education, and protect students from “unwarranted attacks that seek to undermine our public schools and interfere with the ability of our students to learn and succeed.”
Hickman has worked in both corporate and state law, and is currently practicing at McFarland Ritter PLLC, where she has worked since 2014. She has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Brigham Young University and graduated from the J. Reuven Clark Law School at BYU. Hickman also provides pro bono legal counsel in child protection cases, and is licensed to practice in Idaho, Utah and New York.
Hickman is running against incumbent Raul Labrador, who is seeking his second term this November.
Josie Adjanohoun can be reached at [email protected]