Jason Miyares is a Republican candidate for Virginia Attorney General. His name will appear on the ballot on Nov. 2.
Candidate: Jason Miyares
Race: Attorney General
Party: Republican
Website: jasonmiyares.com
Biography: Jason’s story begins with his mother, Miriam Maria Miyares, who fled communist Cuba in 1965 with only the clothes on her back. She legally immigrated to the United States and instilled in her three sons a passionate love of the freedom and democracy of America.
Jason grew up in Virginia Beach and eventually graduated from James Madison University with a bachelor’s in business administration, and the College of William and Mary School of Law with a juris doctor degree.
As a former criminal prosecutor in Virginia Beach, Jason prosecuted over 600 criminal cases and helped keep violent criminals off the streets. In November of 2015, he won election to the 82nd District for the Virginia House of Delegates as a conservative Republican.
He lives in Virginia Beach with his wife Page Atkinson Miyares, owner of a third-generation family-owned small business, and is the proud father of three daughters.
Why should Virginians elect you as Attorney General?
We need an Attorney General who will keep our Commonwealth safe and secure without using the office for political purposes. The Attorney General must support the rule of law and apply the laws equally.
As a former prosecutor and now as a Delegate, I’ve stood up for victims of crimes by fighting the progressive trend in Virginia that sees the early release of violent offenders from their prison sentences. That’s why I’ve proposed a Constitutional amendment that prohibits a rogue parole board from reducing sentences of violent offenders without following the laws. Virginians support longer sentences for those committing the most violent crimes. My proposed Constitutional amendment ensures that violent criminals actually serve the sentences imposed by jurors. It’s an important step forward to keep our communities safe.
What do you hope to accomplish, if elected?
Law Enforcement members risk their lives keeping our communities safe, and they deserve to know we have their backs. As a former prosecutor, I will continue to stand with law enforcement to ensure they have the support they need to do their jobs. As Attorney General, I will support legislation and policies that support law enforcement.
I will continue to defend our Second Amendment rights. As a Delegate in Richmond, I have a strong record of defending the Second Amendment. You can count on me to protect our constitutional rights from the constant attacks by the radical left. I also have a lifelong “A” rating by the NRA.
As Attorney General, I will punish criminals and protect their victims. Socialist Democrats in Richmond continue to put the rights of dangerous criminals ahead of the safety of Virginia families. Unlike our current and corrupt parole board in Richmond, I will ALWAYS put Virginia first and stand up for victims of violent crime. That’s why I’ve proposed a Constitutional amendment that ensures parole remains abolished in Virginia and that we have truth in sentencing. It’s time to stop the rogue parole board from illegally releasing violent criminals.
Recognizing that the Virginia Attorney General serves as consumer counsel, I will make sure that Virginia prosecutes those rogue fraudsters that attempt to defraud Virginians.
Trusting our elections process is the cornerstone of a successful democracy. I will work to restore the integrity of our elections and ensure that every legal vote is counted.
In the growing opioid crisis, I will be laser focused on punishing manufacturers and marketers of opioids that unduly preyed upon our citizens. Achieving just and fair punishment must be the goal here. I won’t agree to settlements that do not compensate Virginia for costs associated with this crisis.
What is the most important legal issue facing Virginians, and how would you tackle that issue?
The growing crisis arising from the Virginia Parole Board demands immediate legal action. Yet, the Attorney General’s team participated in a cover up of the findings brought to them by an independent investigator. The Attorney General must enforce the laws as they are written and force the parole board to follow the laws that include victims in the process and those laws that prevent violent offenders from being released early.
Yet another important legal issues facing Virginia today centers on the opioid crisis and the response of the Virginia Attorney General. It’s important to punish those manufacturers and marketers of opioids that plagued our communities. As Attorney General, I won’t settle for pennies on the dollar. I want Virginia to recover the losses endured.
What areas of consumer protection would you focus on, if elected?
The privacy of Virginians continues to be an important issue for me. I want to ensure that companies collecting information on consumers detail exactly how they plan to use the information collected. Consumers have the right to know if a company plans to sell their personal information. While the General Assembly passed important privacy legislation this session, the next Attorney General will have the opportunity to protect our privacy interests even more through investigations and litigation. I will be the Attorney General that protects the privacy of our citizens.
The opioid crisis continues to plague many parts of Virginia. While state Attorney Generals have taken some actions, it’s important that we focus upon the harm to Virginia caused by manufacturers and marketers that have plagued our citizens. I want to ensure that Virginia punishes those manufacturers and marketers for the pain caused and the losses endured.
What is the most important legal issue that has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, and how would you address it?
The Attorney General should have been leading on the issue of school reopening. So many school boards used the possibility of legal liability as the main reason for keeping our schools closed, when the science didn’t support those long school closures. As Attorney General, I want to make sure that we lead and give schools that reopen protection from needless lawsuits.
Using the pandemic to support their arguments, the Virginia Parole Board began releasing criminals from our prisons. At times, these were violent offenders that should have remained behind bars. The Attorney General should have forced the parole board to follow the laws that required these prisoners to serve the time imposed and included victims and their families in these early release decisions.
The Governor’s continued executive orders simply failed to follow science, closing down or limiting businesses to small capacities; strictly limiting sporting events and the attendance at outdoor events; favoring one type of business over others; and severely limiting religious services and even funerals. While safety is an important issue, it’s also important to apply the law equally. The Attorney General has a responsibility to give legal advice on the disparate treatment caused by these executive orders, yet merely went along with these overly broad, severely limiting executive orders. As Attorney General, I would make sure we follow the laws and respect the rights of our citizens to be treated equally.