Latest news with #NateWillems
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrat Nate Willems announces campaign for Iowa attorney general
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways Democrat Nate Willems is running for Iowa attorney general. (Photo courtesy of the Nate Willems campaign) Nate Willems, a lawyer and former state representative, announced Wednesday he is running for Iowa attorney general. Willems, a Mount Vernon Democrat, is competing for the statewide elected position currently held by Attorney General Brenna Bird. She was first elected to office in 2022, when she defeated longtime Democratic Attorney General Tom Miller. Willems may not be competing against Bird in the 2026 general election. Bird is considering a run for governor following Gov. Kim Reynolds' announcement that she will not seek reelection. Though Willems may be competing for an open position, he said he wants to change the trajectory of how the state office is utilized, alluding to Bird's commitment to filing legal challenges against policies from former President Joe Biden's administration. 'Iowans deserve an attorney general focused on protecting Iowans and standing up for our fundamental rights and freedoms,' Willems said in a statement. 'As attorney general, I'll work to keep communities safe by holding violent criminals accountable and I'll take on corporations who try to rip off Iowans by price gouging or stealing their hard-earned wages.' If elected attorney general, Willems said he would use the office to investigate and prosecute corporations that break labor laws, as well as improving the state's consumer protections through the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division. He also said he would work with prosecutors and local law enforcement to 'secure convictions for violent crimes.' Willems said has a background in this field, having worked as a lawyer focused on labor cases as an attorney and partner for Rush & Nicholson, P.L.C., in Cedar Rapids, a workers' compensation firm. He has also previously held office in Iowa, representing then-House District 29 for two terms, from 2008 to 2012. 'I've spent my career representing tens of thousands of Iowans who have had crimes committed against them,' Willems said. 'I've successfully taken on corporations who think they're above the law and steal wages, require off-the-clock-work, hurt their employees, or violate the rights of working men and women in our state. As attorney general, I'll fight to make sure every Iowan gets the justice they deserve.'
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Iowa Democrat and labor lawyer Nate Willems launches a campaign for attorney general
Labor lawyer and former state representative Nate Willems is running for Iowa attorney general in 2026, saying he wants the office to focus on protecting workers and seniors rather than engaging in "Washington political fights." Willems, a Democrat, told the Des Moines Register in an interview that his two top priorities if elected would be public safety and protecting Iowans from corporate crimes. He said in his work as a labor attorney and partner with Rush & Nicholson P.L.C. in Cedar Rapids, he's helped Iowans recover tens of millions of dollars in wages and other benefits. "There's $900 million a year stolen out of Iowa workers' paychecks at work, and that's in the form of not paying overtime, making people work off the clock, stealing tips, misclassifying people as independent contractors, or taking illegal deductions out of their paychecks," he said. "So I want the attorney general's office to investigate and prosecute corporations when they steal from Iowa workers." Nate Willems, a candidate for Iowa Attorney General, stands for a portrait on May 6, 2025, in Des Moines. In 2022, Willems helped secure a $15 million class-action settlement on behalf of 11,000 University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics employees who said managers didn't pay overtime, bonuses or accrued leave as quickly as state and federal laws require. "More broadly, though, I want the Attorney General's Office to adopt the mindset and the mentality that it goes to work every day for regular Iowans, workers, consumers and seniors and is not focused on Washington politics and political lawsuits," he said. It's a dig at current Republican Attorney General Brenna Bird, who campaigned on the idea in 2022 that she would aggressively push back on then-Democratic President Joe Biden's administration. She delivered on that promise in office, filing lawsuits against federal agencies and signing onto letters pushing back on Democratic policies. Since Republican President Donald Trump took office in January, Bird has used her office to forcefully defend his agenda, including joining other Republican attorneys general in urging the retailer Costco to end its DEI — or diversity, equity and inclusion — policies. Willems said if he's elected, he would consider on a case-by-case basis whether it makes sense to file lawsuits pushing back on federal policies. "There is a time and place when regular Iowans are impacted directly, and you feel that there has been an overstep by the federal government," he said. "There's a time and place to do that. I just am afraid that what we've seen here in the last few years is it's almost sometimes filing lawsuits or joining lawsuits just to issue a press release, and that's not the right reason to be getting involved in these national lawsuits." Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird speaks during the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition 25th Annual Spring Kickoff at Horizon Events Center on Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Clive. Bird became Iowa's first Republican attorney general in decades after defeating longtime incumbent Tom Miller in 2022. Bird has not said whether she will seek reelection to a second term. She has hinted that she could be considering a campaign to succeed Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, who announced in April she would not run again, potentially creating an open attorney general seat. Willems said Bird's decision doesn't change his outlook on the race. "I've been making these plans to put together a campaign and to pursue this for the next 18 months, because I feel passionately about what I can bring to the table on behalf of workers and consumers and seniors, regardless of whether Brenna Bird runs for reelection or some other office," he said. Willems is a lifelong Iowan, and he grew up in Anamosa where his father was an attorney and his mother was a public school teacher. Today, he lives in Mount Vernon with his wife, Maggie, also a teacher, and their three daughters. He previously served two terms in the Iowa House of Representatives. He said when he was in the Legislature, he served in both the majority and minority parties, and he believes that experience will help him work across the aisle. "I know how to work with both Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature," he said. "And that is important for the attorney general to be able to understand the lawmaking process, understand the rhythm and be able to develop open lines of communication with leadership, regardless of who's in power in the Legislature." If elected, Willems said he hopes to create a unit within the Attorney General's Office to focus on investigating and prosecuting corporations that steal from workers. And he said he wants to rebuild the office's consumer protection division, which he said has "atrophied" in recent years. He said he plans to dedicate the time and energy to win, even as Democrats have struggled to gain a footing in statewide races in recent election cycles. "I've scaled back my law practice to devote the time to this over the next 18 months," he said. "Because it's an incredibly important office, and it deserves a candidate to do everything possible to win." Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach her at bpfann@ or 515-284-8244. Follow her on X at @brianneDMR. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Democrat Nate Willems launches campaign for Iowa attorney general
