With 17 years of experience as Assistant Attorney General and superintendent of the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions under her belt, Felecia Rotellini has thrown her hat in the race to become the next Attorney General for the state of Arizona.
Rotellini stopped in Yuma Friday as part of the first leg of her "Fighting for Arizona Families" tour, where she'll visit five communities in three counties — Mohave, La Paz and Yuma — from April 27 through May 1.
Rotellini is running as Democrat.
Rotellini's had nearly 24 years of experience in private and public law. She also helped crack down on mortgage and financial fraud, starting a Mortgage Fraud Task Force in 2006 and working with the Legislature to license loan officers in both 2008 and 2009.
With that on her resume and experience working under governors from both the Democratic and Republican parties, Rotellini said she's qualified for the office.
"It's one office where politicians and partisanship need to take a step back to the focus of protecting and making decisions in the best interest of the people of Arizona," she said.
Prosecuting and preventing crime is her "life's passion," she said.
One of her most notable accomplishments as a litigator, she said, was under Gov. Janet Napolitano, where she helped bring down a fraudulent nonprofit, Baptist Foundation of Arizona, and in the end, $217 million was redistributed back to Arizonans who lost their money.
With her work helping to license loan officers, she said she worked with law enforcement in a new area of criminal activity.
"I believe that is going to help Arizona recover from the economic downturn right now," she said. "I think families are going to be safer."
The job of the Attorney General needs to be in the hands of an experienced prosecutor, she said.
There are two areas she wants to focus on if she wins in the fall — continue the crack down on loans and go after drug cartels and violent criminals. Rotellini added she has the discernment, wisdom and experience to make the right decisions.
When it comes to the newly passed, controversial SB 1070, Rotellini said "let's face it, the federal government immigration system is broken."
What the bill will do is pull resources away from local law enforcement, she said.
"It's not a law that helps us," she said. "In many ways (it) makes the streets less safe."
She said she will also continue to fight for victims' rights as well as work on reimbursement for local law enforcement agencies that house and prosecute those who are in the country illegally.
"I'm running because I want to continue to make these decisions."
For more information about her campaign, visit www.FeleciaForArizona.com.