Although the office doesn’t regulate the day-to-day activities in education, Democratic attorney general candidate Mike Hatch said he supports students on First Amendment issues, including optional student services fees.
Hatch said he also supports an arbitration system to work out disagreements between landlords and renters about security deposits as part of his duties in consumer protection.
Hatch earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 1966 and graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1973.
Hatch said he is running on his record for fighting for “the underdog,” through both his public service and his private law practice.
From 1983 to 1989, Hatch was the state’s commissioner of commerce, where he regulated businesses in Minnesota. As commissioner, he said he fought for the elderly, small business owners, consumers and family farmers.
Hatch has worked in private law practice since 1990, specializing in health care and related technology issues. His cases include a lawsuit filed on behalf of 50 women whose insurance companies denied them coverage for bone marrow transplants to treat breast cancer.
He also supports First Amendment rights, opposing prayer in schools. Hatch said he is also against legislation to screen the World Wide Web in schools and libraries.