| Saying he is ready to "take on" big oil and big insurance in Texas, Democratic Attorney General hopeful David Van Os paid a visit to Richmond last week to promote his candidacy.
Van Os is looking to unseat incumbent Attorney General Republican Greg Abbott, who was elected to the office in 2002. Speaking before an audience of Democratic supporters at the Fort Bend County courthouse in Richmond, the self-styled "people's" lawyer criticized Abbott for not using the office to break up what he calls oil monopolies and for not enforcing what he sees as collusion in the insurance business.
"That one company is making staggering amounts of profit and you're still being told you have to pay higher and higher and higher prices," he said of Exxon-Mobil.
Van Os said the merger of oil companies like Exxon and Mobil and Chevron and Texaco have contributed to high gas prices and the reduction of jobs in the Gulf Coast area. However, the issue can be tackled from the Attorney General's Office, he said.
"The Attorney General of Texas is a constitutional officer, and he has the tools by virtue of the Texas Constitution and the laws of the state of Texas to literally do something about it," he said.
He said Texas law stating "monopolies are contrary to the genius of free government and shall never be allowed." Antitrust laws, he said, can be used to break up the oil companies.
Abbott, said Van Os, has acted as a "corporate mouthpiece," hosting fundraising dinners at $5,000 a plate and accepting money from a "who's-who" of Texas corporations.
In 2002, Abbott defeated Democratic candidate Kirk Watson, the former mayor of Austin, with 56.72 percent of the vote. Currently, Republicans hold all statewide offices in Texas.
Van Os urged the audience of Democrats to not engage in defeatism. He said he can win the office in November, and that Democrats need to believe they can win in Texas.
"They can outspend us a million to one and it doesn't matter," he said.
Van Os, a 1976 graduate of the University of Texas law school, is running his third statewide campaign. He ran for the Texas Supreme Court in 2002 and in 1998, when Abbott defeated him. Van Os for several years represented the Texas AFL-CIO as their general counselor.
Abbott's campaign manager, Daniel Hodge, said he does not have any comment on Van Os or his statements.
"Attorney General Abbott is running for reelection so he can continue arresting child sex predators, protecting consumers, preserving taxpayer dollars and defending Texas values," he said.
In his reelection bid, Abbott has been touting the creation of the Cyber Crimes Unit and the expansion of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, among other initiatives.
The Attorney General oversees a staff of 700 lawyers and represents the state of Texas in legal matters.
|
