Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) did a media call with Jake Zimmerman on Monday, September 21 to support Zimmerman’s campaign for Missouri attorney general. Zimmerman, a Democrat who lives in Olivette, is currently St. Louis County assessor and previously was a state representative.
Castro attended Harvard Law School with Zimmerman. He said he is campaigning for Zimmerman because he “believes in him as a public servant.”
“I believe that public servants need to come together and build an infrastructure of opportunity, and I believe Jake is doing that in Missouri,” Castro said. As the state’s attorney general, Castro said, Zimmerman would have the potential to “affect almost any part of people’s life in the state.”
The state’s current attorney general, Chris Koster, a Democrat running for governor, lists the office’s services and programs on the office’s state site. The alphabetized list covers the gamut from A to Z, from “abuse/neglect” to “welcome home – adoption,” only missing entries for Q, X, Y and Z.
Covered under “E” is “environmental protection.” Koster currently is suing Republic Services, Inc., which operates a landfill in Bridgeton with the toxic combination of radioactive waste and an underground fire. Richard Callow, a spokesperson for the landfill operator (who also consults for St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay), said alarming scientific reports that Koster recently released are junk science intended merely as fodder for the suit.
Zimmerman was asked about the merits of the case, which could still be pending if and when he is elected to the office.
“While I do not have a PhD in environmental engineering and would have to defer to a professional opinion on the science, these allegations are very serious and very concerning,” Zimmerman said. “When you have radioactive waste in the middle of your community, by definition that’s a source of concern.”
He said he had spoken to people on every side of the issue, from environmental activists to landfill officials, but – like a good litigator – declined to comment on pending litigation. He did try to score a campaign point on the issue, however. “The seriousness of this is exactly why you need someone in the attorney general’s office who thinks environmental justice is a big deal and is not for sale to the highest bidder in Jefferson City.”
The “P” column under the office’s programs and services does not now include “police-involved shootings” – but it will, if one of the Ferguson Commission’s 189 calls to action is implemented. The commission called for the state attorney general to be given the authority of considering whether to bring charges in these cases, rather than local circuit attorneys, who work so closely with their local police to prosecute cases.
Zimmerman was asked if as attorney general he would want to take on these cases and how he would handle them.
He said it was Missouri lawmakers’ domain to decide whether the office should take on this responsibility and authority, but if given the authority, he would wield it “neutrally and appropriately.”
“That means bringing people together, convening a respectful conversation including all communities impacted by questions of law enforcement – black, white, rich, poor, and everyone in between,” Zimmerman said. He said he would look to how Cincinnati has moved forward following its unrest as a model.
More generally, he said of the Ferguson Commission report, “It’s not so much a question of the individual merit of every recommendation, but are we going to do something? Are we going to waste a crisis or are we going to get some good out of this?”
Zimmerman’s response to both the radioactive landfill suit – where he has spoken to people on all sides of the issue – and possibly handling police-involved shooting cases – where he envisions convening an inclusive conversation – was consistent with the Harvard Law student that Castro said he remembers.
“In school, Jake was able to get along with people of all political persuasions,” Castro said. “I have witnessed that as a friend, how he hangs out with different groups. He carries that attitude and approach in politics and public service in Missouri.”
