Tom Foley: 2018 Election Guide
Welcome to WCCO.com's 2018 political guide!
We reached out to all Minnesota candidates running for U.S Senate, Governor, U.S Congress, Attorney General, Secretary of State and State Auditor this fall. Candidates were asked to provide a two-minute video discussing their platform as well as answer a set of our viewer's questions.
Above is the video and below the answers Tom Foley provided. This is not a paid advertisement nor does WCCO endorse any candidate.
Responses from Tom Foley, DFL candidate for Attorney General:
Should Minnesota cities be allowed to declare themselves "sanctuary cities" and decline to cooperate with federal officials to enforce immigration laws?
I believe in local control. It should be up to the local elected officials to best decide the appropriate level of cooperation with federal officials and allocation of their law enforcement resources.
There is an an effort by state attorneys general to sue pharmaceutical companies for their role in helping create the opioid crisis in America and Minnesota. Will you support those efforts by filing a lawsuit on behalf of Minnesota?
I would take a leadership role in filing lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies on the opioid crisis. I am currently one of the lawyers with the Alliance For Tribal Justice and we represent over 30 tribal nations and 20 rural hospitals and health care providers that are already suing opioid manufacturers and distributors.
Should the penalty for certain violent crimes in Minnesota be the death penalty?
As a former prosecutor I've tried numerous murder cases. I think the death penalty ends up being very costly to the state in the massive amount of time it takes for the death penalty to be imposed and is not a deterrent to crime. Therefore I'm not in favor of reinstating the death penalty in Minnesota.
Should Minnesota release non-violent drug offenders currently serving Minnesota prison terms?
Incarcerating someone to prison is very expensive. Non-violent drug offenders should be sentenced to cost effective alternative treatment facilities other than prison. Those currently serving prison terms should be reviewed on a case by case basis and given the appropriate sentence modification.