Hao Nguyen announces campaign for Hennepin County Attorney
A candidate has thrown his hat into the ring to be the next Hennepin County attorney, a little over a month after Mary Moriarty announced she won't be running for re-election.
On Wednesday, Hao Nguyen announced his campaign in Minneapolis.
Nguyen, who has been endorsed by Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, among others, says he wants to make sure "residents never feel like they must choose between feeling safe and being treated fairly."
Before going to law school, Nguyen says he worked as a correctional officer, a police officer and a sheriff's deputy. A LinkedIn profile for Nguyen says he attended multiple schools, including St. Cloud State, Mitchell Hamline and Stanford University, and he currently works for Ramsey County as a director for the trial and appellate division.
"I am an experienced prosecutor who believes in justice and fairness for everyone in our Hennepin County community. I will hold violent offenders accountable for their actions, while uplifting the voices of victims. I will reasonably consider innovation and responsible reform, but never at the cost of public safety or equity for all our communities," said Nguyen in a prepared statement. "In Hennepin County you have the right to be safe and treated fairly. You shouldn't have to pick one over the other."
Nguyen joins DFL State Rep. Cedrick Frazier in the county attorney race. Frazier, who previously worked as a public defender in Hennepin County before being elected in 2020 to the state legislature, announced his campaign last month.