Aaron Frey
{{Short description|American lawyer and politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Aaron Frey
| office = 58th Attorney General of Maine
| governor = Janet Mills
| term_start = January 2, 2019
| term_end =
| predecessor = Janet Mills
| successor =
| office1 = Member of the Maine House of Representatives
| constituency1 = 124th district
| term_start1 = December 3, 2014
| term_end1 = December 5, 2018
| predecessor1 = Bryan Kaenrath
| successor1 = Joe Perry
| constituency2 = 18th district
| term_start2 = December 5, 2012
| term_end2 = December 3, 2014
| predecessor2 = James W. Parker
| successor2 = Anne-Marie Mastraccio
| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|39|2018|12|4}}
| birth_place = Bangor, Maine, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = Democratic
| education = Saint Anselm College (BA)
Roger Williams University (JD)
}}
Aaron M. Frey (born c. 1978){{Cite web |url=https://bangordailynews.com/2018/12/04/politics/maine-democrats-pick-bangors-aaron-frey-to-succeed-janet-mills-as-attorney-general |title=Maine Democrats pick Bangor's Aaron Frey to succeed Janet Mills as attorney general |date=4 December 2018}} is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 58th Attorney General of Maine since 2019. He formerly served as a Democratic representative in the Maine House of Representatives.
Early life and career
Frey was born and raised in Dixmont, Maine. He is the son of Michael Frey and Cynthia Bean-Frey.{{Cite web|url=https://bangordailynews.com/2018/12/28/politics/what-you-need-to-know-about-maines-next-attorney-general/|title=Will new attorney general be fair? Ask former President George W. Bush|date=28 December 2018}} Frey attended Saint Anselm College, where he served as student body president. He graduated from Saint Anselm with a Bachelor's degree in politics, and later received a Juris Doctor degree from Roger Williams University School of Law. He later started a law firm in Bangor. In 2012 he was elected to the Maine House of Representatives. From December 2014 until his resignation, he represented the 124th district, which includes parts of Bangor and Orono.{{Cite web|url=https://legislature.maine.gov/housedems/freya/index.html|title=Rep. Frey|website=legislature.maine.gov|access-date=5 December 2018|archive-date=1 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201035012/http://legislature.maine.gov/housedems/freya/index.html|url-status=dead}}
Maine Attorney General
In December 2018, Democrats in the Maine Legislature chose Frey as their nominee for Maine Attorney General. Upon his nomination, he resigned his house seat to comply with a constitutional provision that prohibits state legislators from being elected to higher offices. He succeeded Janet Mills, who was elected Governor of Maine.{{Cite web|url=https://bangordailynews.com/2018/12/04/politics/maine-democrats-pick-bangors-aaron-frey-to-succeed-janet-mills-as-attorney-general/|title=Maine Democrats pick Bangor's Aaron Frey to succeed Janet Mills as attorney general|website=Bangor Daily News|date=4 December 2018|language=en-US|access-date=5 December 2018}}{{Cite web|url=http://legislature.maine.gov/house/house/MemberProfiles/ListDistrict|title=Maine House of Representatives|website=legislature.maine.gov|access-date=9 December 2018}}
Upon taking office, Frey stated that he would consider involving Maine in multi-state lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mainepublic.org/post/maine-s-new-attorney-general-looking-more-joint-actions-other-states|title=Maine's New Attorney General Is Looking At More Joint Actions With Other States|last=Leary|first=Mal|website=www.mainepublic.org|date=2 January 2019|language=en|access-date=2019-02-19}} He later joined a lawsuit accusing drug manufacturers of price inflation.{{Cite news|url=https://www.journaltribune.com/articles/stateregional/maine-joins-multi-state-lawsuit-accusing-drug-makers-of-price-rigging/|title=Maine joins multi-state lawsuit accusing drug makers of price-rigging|last=Gray|first=Megan|date=2019-05-14|work=Biddeford Journal Tribune}}
In February 2019, Frey became one of sixteen state attorneys general to join a lawsuit against the Trump administration over President Trump's decision to declare a national emergency. The emergency declaration was made to allow the President to allocate funding for a wall on the United States-Mexico border.{{Cite web|url=https://bangordailynews.com/2019/02/18/politics/maine-among-states-suing-over-trumps-border-emergency/|title=Maine among states suing over Trump's border 'emergency'|website=Bangor Daily News|date=18 February 2019|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-19}}{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/16-states-sue-president-donald-trump-emergency-declaration/story?id=61155383|title=16 states sue President Donald Trump over emergency declaration for border wall|website=ABC News|language=en|access-date=2019-02-19}}
In April 2023, Frey announced that he was in a romantic relationship with an employee under his direct supervision in the Attorney General's Office and called it "an error in judgment" to not reassign the employee to a new supervisor.{{Cite web |last=Shepherd |first=Michael |date=2023-04-05 |title=Maine AG Aaron Frey in romantic relationship with employee he supervised |url=http://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/04/05/politics/maine-aaron-frey-relationship-employee/ |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=Bangor Daily News |language=en-US}} In an email to office staff, Frey identified the employee as an Assistant Attorney General and disclosed that the relationship had begun in August 2022.{{Cite web |last=Russell |first=Eric |date=2023-04-05 |title=AG acknowledges relationship with subordinate, apologizes for not disclosing sooner |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2023/04/05/maine-attorney-general-acknowledges-relationship-with-subordinate-in-his-office/ |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=Press Herald}} The revelation was made after the Bangor Daily News began investigating tips about Frey's relationship.{{Cite web |last=Shepherd |first=Michael |date=2023-04-05 |title=Maine AG Aaron Frey in romantic relationship with employee he supervised |url=http://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/04/05/politics/maine-aaron-frey-relationship-employee/ |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=Bangor Daily News |language=en-US}} After publicly disclosing the relationship, he transferred supervision of the person to chief deputy attorney general Christopher Taub. An independent workplace assessment report found no fault with how the Attorney General's Office handled the situation.{{cite news |last1=Kobin |first1=Billy |title=Report finds no fault with Aaron Frey’s handling of relationship with employee |url=https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/06/02/politics/aaron-frey-report-relationship/ |access-date=1 March 2025 |work=Bangor Daily News |date=June 2, 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Bartow |first1=Adam |title=Report finds Maine AG's relationship did not significantly impact work |url=https://www.wmtw.com/article/report-finds-maine-ag-aaron-frey-relationship-not-significantly-impact-work/44093726 |access-date=1 March 2025 |work=WMTW |date=June 5, 2023}}
References
External links
- [https://www.maine.gov/ag/ Maine Attorney General] government website
- [https://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/137230/aaron-frey#.XD7BmVxKjIU Aaron Frey] profile at Vote Smart
- [https://www.naag.org/naag/attorneys-general/whos-my-ag/maine/aaron-frey.php Aaron Frey] profile at National Association of Attorneys General
- [https://democraticags.org/profiles/aaron-frey/ Aaron Frey] profile at Democratic Attorneys General Association
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{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=Janet Mills}}
{{s-ttl|title=Attorney General of Maine|years=2019–present}}
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{{Current Maine statewide political officials}}
{{U.S. state attorneys general}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frey, Aaron}}
Category:21st-century members of the Maine Legislature
Category:Maine attorneys general
Category:Democratic Party members of the Maine House of Representatives
Category:Politicians from Bangor, Maine
Category:Roger Williams University alumni