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Sep 28, 2023 · Jen Westmoreland, the partner of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and newly announced candidate for county commissioner, pledged on Wednesday she would recuse herself from voting on any county board actions that would “personally benefit Mary.”
- Overview
- Speaking out against the status quo
- 'We have a lot of work to do'
Minnesota political candidate Mary Moriarty decided to share her authentic self with her constituents earlier this year. Moriarty, a candidate for Hennepin County attorney — whose jurisdiction includes Minneapolis — came out as queer on the campaign trail in January.
“It could be a risky thing, coming out publicly during the campaign, but I felt it was important,” Moriarty told NBC News. “This was a big, big decision for me. I hoped it would help people struggling with their identity.”
In speaking publicly about her sexuality, Moriarty joins an increasing number of politicians willing to do so. A record number — over 1,000 — openly LGBTQ candidates ran or are still running for office this year, LGBTQ Victory Institute’s annual “Out for America” report found.
Despite the increase in the number of out candidates, there are still, at most — if not all — levels of government, elected offices that have never been held by an openly LGBTQ person.
In August, Moriarty came out on top of her nonpartisan primary race with more than 36% of the votes cast, which was twice as many as the next candidate, Martha Holton Dimick, whom she will face off against in November.
If elected, Moriarty would be the first out LGBTQ woman to serve as Hennepin County attorney, the equivalent of district attorney in other parts of the country. She said she hopes to use the position as a platform to address issues of injustice in the legal system.
Moriarty said she did not plan on running for office. She spent over three decades as a public defender in Hennepin County, and in 2014 she became the county’s first female chief public defender.
“It was very meaningful at the time; it still is. I can’t tell you how many parents of young girls told me that it meant a lot to them — that they could be in a position of leadership,” she said.
In her role, Moriarty broke with tradition and spoke publicly about issues of racial injustice in the criminal justice system.
“Historically, the chief public defender kept their heads down and tried to make sure people could represent clients as best as possible but haven’t spoken out about systemic change,” she said. “I had been talking about race and the policies of the current public attorney. … I got in trouble for that. I got accused of calling a justice partner a racist in public.”
Moriarty wasn’t reappointed as chief public defender after that, she said.
“What I took away from that particular instance was how difficult it is for people to speak out publicly against the status quo,” she said.
Moriarty said events like National Coming Out Day, which has been celebrated on Oct. 11 annually for over three decades, are especially important because of the challenges lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people continue to face in many parts of the country.
“It comes at a time when this country is incredibly hostile to the LGBTQ community,” Moriarty said. “In many areas of the country, it is not safe to come out.”
As a public defender, Moriarty said, she saw the legal system let many LGBTQ people down.
“The system has certainly not treated LGBTQ people well at all,” she said, citing the situation of homeless youth, many of whom are transgender. Once they become unhoused, she explained, many are criminalized “simply because they don’t have a place to live due to their identity.”
Moriarty also pointed to the local political context. Earlier this month, the Republican candidate for governor repeated a false internet rumor about Minnesota schools providing litter boxes for children who identify as “furries.”
“Look what’s happening all over the country, in Florida and Texas,” Moriarty said, referring to anti-LGBTQ legislation passed in those states. “It’s not particularly safe for people to come out.”
- Julie Moreau
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Sep 26, 2023 · Jen Westmoreland, a well-known west metro progressive activist, and domestic partner to Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, has announced she is running for the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners.
Oct 11, 2022 · October 11, 2022 · 5 min read. 13. Minnesota political candidate Mary Moriarty decided to share her authentic self with her constituents earlier this year. Moriarty, a candidate for Hennepin...
Apr 14, 2024 · By Ernesto Londoño. Reporting from Minneapolis. April 14, 2024. Mary Moriarty, a former public defender, became Minneapolis’s top prosecutor last year after persuading voters shaken by the...
Mary Moriarty is the elected Hennepin County Attorney. Moriarty was elected in 2022 and previously served as the Hennepin County Chief Public Defender for 6 years (2014 – 2020). As the County Attorney, Moriarty serves as the chief executive of Minnesota’s largest public law office. Open all.
Nov 9, 2022 · Hennepin County Attorney candidates Mary Moriarty and Martha Holton Dimick shared where they stand on the issues of violent crime, grand juries and police misconduct.
