Interview with Andrew Bailey, candidate for Missouri attorney general

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

ABC 17 News is interviewing candidates ahead of the Nov. 5 election. Below is an interview with Republican and current Attorney General Andrew Bailey who is seeking election to a full term for the first time.

Bailey's opponent in this race is Democrat Elad Gross.

Morgan Buresh: First off, Attorney General Bailey, can you just tell me a little bit of background about yourself and your qualifications to be attorney general? 

Andrew Bailey: Yeah, absolutely. A proud Missouri kid, grew up there in Columbia. I graduated from elementary school, junior high and high school in Columbia, went to Mizzou. Planned on going into the Army. I went to Mizzou in 1999 on an Army ROTC scholarship. 9-11 happened, my plans changed, and instead of going to law school, I graduated from Mizzou and went into the Army as an armor officer, deployed to Iraq twice. I was an armored cavalry scout platoon leader and ultimately a troop commander, and I had the privilege of leading soldiers in combat. And that taught me a lot about leadership, management and how important the Constitution and freedoms are to me personally and to our nation and our state.

I came home and went to law school at Mizzou, and I was an assistant prosecuting attorney, worked with law enforcement to find justice for victims and hold wrongdoers accountable. Ended up becoming a parent. My wife and I have adopted children and also had biological children, and so we had a growing family, and I couldn't afford to be an assistant prosecutor. Went to work at Missouri Department of Corrections the same day Governor Parson took office. And he needed to develop a staff when he took office and saw me working at DOC and pulled me up to be on his staff.

And I was with the governor for a little over three years and just was in the right place at the right time when my predecessor, Eric Schmitt, went to the United States Senate. It's a privilege to get to follow in his footsteps and to have earned the faith and confidence of Governor Parson to have appointed me to this position. I’m closing out my second year in office, and I feel like we've done a lot to fight and win for Missourians. 

Buresh: We'll get to that in just a second, but first, in your eyes, what is the role of the attorney general?

Bailey: Yeah, to be the law firm for the State of Missouri, to protect Missourians. I think those are critical issues. You know, we do so much to assist in the criminal justice system as prosecutors and to defend the state's convictions on appeal. We do so much in the form of consumer protection to make whole Missourians who have been wronged or defrauded by predatory business practices. We defend the state, support the counties, and these are important roles as the law firm for the State of Missouri. 

Buresh: What will your priority be when it comes to office spending? 

Bailey: Well, to continue to work within the budget provided to us by the people's elected representatives in the General Assembly, and I think we've done that each year I've been in office and it produced incredible results. Again, within the budget that we inherited, we've increased criminal prosecutions statewide by 133% in one year. In the first year in office, we recovered $32 million in settlements and judgments in our consumer protection division. That's real dollars that go back in the pockets of working Missouri families and to the State of Missouri.

In the second year in office, we recovered more than $400 million from scammed Missourians in settlements and judgments under our consumer protection division. So, proud of the work we've done expanding operations within the budget provided by the people's elected representatives. 

Buresh: I wanted to give you a second, your opponent made a claim that your office is lacking adequate staffing right now. And I just wanted to give you an opportunity to have a response to that or just talk about how you think the office's staffing levels are.

Bailey: Yeah, look, my opponent has no idea what he's talking about. We have reduced our vacancy rate from 25%. In the first year, we dropped it down to 8% and in the second year in office, this year, we’ll be fully staffed and that's a testament to the work we've done, recruitment and through retention, as well. We've also reduced turnover from 35% down 10% in the first year and even dropped it even lower in the second year in office.

So, it's not just that we're recruiting talent, it’s that we're retaining talent. And look at how that plays out in the expanded operations that I've already mentioned, both in consumer protection and in criminal prosecution, but in our civil defense work, we've obtained seven complete defense verdicts in our employment law section in a 15-month period. It's because we're showing up and fighting and winning because we have the appropriate staff that's appropriately mentored to a successful outcome.

Buresh: I wanted to move on to crime. I know we spoke about this last time, but can you just talk a little bit about your plan to address violent crime in Missouri? 

Bailey: Yeah, it's to not only work with our incoming governor, who, God willing, will be Governor Mike Kehoe, who has, I think, a clear vision for how to address crime and will have a bold legislative priority to push forward in the General Assembly. But also, you know, I've traveled circuit by circuit meeting with elected prosecutors, sheriffs and police chiefs to reset the relationship and engage at the local level to assist. And again, that's resulted in that 133% increase in criminal prosecution by my office. And so those relationships matter. We're going to continue to build those relationships out and find new and innovative ways to hold wrongdoers accountable and ultimately, No. 1 priority is finding justice for victims.

Buresh: I believe we spoke about this last time, as well, but just your takes on prosecution versus crime prevention. 

Bailey: Well, everyone's got a role to play in the criminal justice system. The attorney general's role is to assist prosecutors and to not only assist them at the trial court level, but to defend their convictions on appeal. And so my role is to be an advocate in an adversarial system, to advocate for the rule of law and justice for victims, and to support law enforcement and to push their investigations forward as criminal charges, convictions and defend those convictions on appeal.

Buresh: Moving along to consumer protection, I know that you hit on this earlier in the interview, but just what do you plan to do if elected to a full term to protect Missourians from scams? 

Bailey: Well, to continue to expand our consumer protection operations. Again, $32 million that we've recovered in settlements and judgments in the first year, more than $400 million recovered in settlements and judgments in the second year, and we haven't hit our ceiling yet. We've created some real efficiencies in that process and again, have staffed to an appropriate level to be able to fight and win to protect Missourians from scams. 

Buresh: Do you have any specific ways that you hope to expand that office? 

Bailey: Yeah, continuing to staff up. You know, I would like to see additional staff allocated by the General Assembly. I think that would be a huge win for the people in the State of Missouri. I think that we can continue to reform our processes to create additional efficiencies, and so we'll just continue to push forward.

Buresh: Okay. Other priorities that you have if you're elected. 

Bailey: You know, I think that censorship is a major concern to people across the United States of America and certainly to Missourians. We see government censorship that we exposed in our case, Missouri v Biden. I think a big tech censorship is an enormous problem. It's driving certain voices from public discourse. I think that's detrimental to free, fair and open debate.

I think the border is top of mind for all Missourians. Every state is a border state now because there have been more illegal border crossings and entries into the United States of America than the entire population of the State of Missouri. And that's causing increases in fentanyl trafficking and human trafficking in the State of Missouri. And so using the resources at the state level to fight back against those things needs to remain a top priority. 

Buresh: That leads into my next question: what role would your office have with the federal government? 

Bailey: Well, it depends. I mean, at the end of the day, the federal government has a limited role enumerated in our United States Constitution, and states have plenary power under our federal structure, federalist structure. And so, you know, making sure that we're keeping in check rogue federal bureaucratic agencies that exceed the scope of their statutory authority and infringe upon the separation of powers doctrine codified in the United States Constitution. That's been a central role of my office for the past few years and will remain so. 

Buresh: How do you plan to work with other agencies, local, state or federal to achieve your goals?

Bailey: Well, it's relationships, and I think we've demonstrated incredible relationships with local law enforcement. You know, that's resulted in the endorsement of my candidacy by the Fraternal Order of Police, the Law Enforcement Leadership Coalition, the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troopers Association and the Sheriffs United and so I think that demonstrates, you know, the relationships that we built out and the working relationships we developed with law enforcement across the State of Missouri.

Certainly, you can see that as well in some of the investigations we've launched in partnership with other agencies in the executive branch of government and in constant consultation and coordination with the legislative branch of government. And so, I think we've demonstrated an ability to build out those relationships and are committed to them in the future. 

Buresh: Lastly, I wanted to give you a second to talk about what sets you apart from your opponent in this race.

Bailey: Well, it's leadership experience, management experience and time on the job. You know, at the end of the day, my opponent is an individual who has previously been endorsed by Cori Bush and has called publicly for the defunding of the police, has defended Antifa protesters who blocked thoroughfares in the State of Missouri illegally. That's a stark contrast with me. I come from a prosecutor's office where we work with law enforcement and defend, never defund, the police and respect the men and women in law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe and fight for justice for victims. 

Buresh: All right, Attorney General Bailey, I think that's all I have for you. Is there anything else you want people to know?

Bailey: No, look, I'm proud to be a Missourian, proud to be raising my kids here. I'm invested in this state. I want this to be the safest state in the nation for children and we'll keep fighting to make that happen.