(Screenshot/ClareKindall.com)
Clare Kindall, assistant to the attorney general, wife, mother and black belt in Judo, said that she will be running for attorney general to advocate change in the era of Trump by promoting better representation in politics, combating student debt and encouraging net neutrality.
“I am running because I joined hundreds and thousands of women at the Women’s March,” Kindall said. “We were marching because we were really worried about the 2016 election and we had the right to be worried. I have become increasingly concerned about where our country was going.”
Kindall said she looked for ways to make an impact after the election of President Donald Trump and when current Attorney General George Jepsen declared he would not be running for reelection, she found her opportunity.
“If elected, I would be the first woman elected as Connecticut attorney general,” Kindall said. “I believe that government is always stronger when it has representation of the people it’s governing. I want to see women and men in office and diversity in nationalities and races.”
Kindall said she has worked as an attorney for 28 years, served five years on the Board of Education, four years on the West Hartford Town Council and has been the assistant attorney general for 20 years.
“I’m not looking to use this as a stepping stone to anything else,” Kindall said. “It’s a job I’ve already been doing for 20 years and it’s a job I love. I know first hand that it can make a tremendous impact on the residence of the state of Connecticut.”
As attorney general, Kindall said that she would protect working class citizens and those who are most vulnerable to federal government decisions.
“I would educate students on their rights under their loans and advocate to change laws on student loan structure,” Kindall said. “I would continue the multi-state efforts of various attorney generals to curb and monitor administration of student loans by various entities.”
Kindall also said she would fight for net neutrality, a principle where service providers allow users access to all internet content.
Net neutrality was repealed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in February.
Jepsen joined a coalition of states attorney generals across the country which initiated a lawsuit against the FCC’s repealment.
“I am a firm believer in net neutrality and equal access to the internet,” Kindall said. “I believe that anything less is going to be an extreme limitation on our economic growth. I believe internet should remain open for the free exchange of information and innovation.”
Lillian Whittaker is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at lillian.whittaker@uconn.edu.