With current New York Attorney General Letitia James running for governor, the race for attorney general is fast becoming like a sidewalk in Times Square the week before Christmas – enormously crowded.
On the Democratic side, there’s state Sen. Shelley Mayer, Queens Assemblyman Clyde Vanel, Fordham law professor Zephyr Teachout, lead prosecutor in Donald Trump’s 2019 impeachment, Daniel S. Goldman and Maria Vullo, who served as superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services between 2016 and 2019. There are also at least three other candidates strongly eyeing the race, including Deputy Senate Majority Leader Michael Gianaris.
It’s not quite as tight on the Republican side of the ticket.
Attorney Michael Henry is running, along with Croton-on-Hudson attorney John Sarcone and Joe Holland, a businessman and former commissioner of the Department of Housing and Community Renewal under Gov. George Pataki.
Capital Tonight spoke with former DFS Superintendent Maria Vullo about her bid for the Democratic nomination.
“I’m a born and bred New Yorker, brought in up Brooklyn,” Vullo said with an accent familiar to anyone who knows Flatbush. “I’ve spent my entire life here; all my degrees are here.”
Vullo claims to be the only candidate in the race who has served in a statewide public position, with a budget and staff of over 1,000 people.
“I regulated the banks and insurance companies,” she said. “I protected (New Yorkers) against Trump for example when the federal government tried to take away New Yorkers’ health care. I protected them from pre-existing condition limitations and I mandated health care access for New Yorkers in all sorts of ways.”
Since Eliot Spitzer designated himself as the “Sheriff of Wall Street," attorneys general in New York state have become increasingly ambitious. When asked what her primary focus will be if she wins next year’s race, Vullo said women’s reproductive rights are at the top of her list.
“I was in Washington D.C. last week when the Supreme Court heard the case to overturn Roe v. Wade. I have three decades of experience protecting reproductive rights. I represented Planned Parenthood for years; I was chair of the Board of Naral.”
Vullo told Capital Tonight that in the wake of the Supreme Court possibly limiting reproductive rights, she wants to be attorney general to protect reproductive freedom for New Yorkers and women in other states.
Vullo called the possibility of SCOTUS overturning Roe “the unthinkable."
During her tenure as DFS superintendent, Vullo promulgated cybersecurity regulations that have become standard around the nation. She also increased access to financial services to those in underserved communities. She was also able to collect $3 billion against banks and insurance companies for financial crimes.
Prior to serving as DFS superintendent, Vullo was in private practice and also served in then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office as executive deputy attorney general for economic justice. The investigators in the Investor Protection Bureau reported to her.
“We went after con artists on Wall Street for violating the Martin Act, so certainly if any of that occurs while I’m attorney general, we will go after them,” she said.
Regarding the now-disgraced former governor, Vullo told Capital Tonight she is “appalled by the conduct."
“I spoke out against that and I haven’t spoken to him in three years,” she said of Cuomo.