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Seattle Council member Lorena Gonzalez running for state Attorney General

SEATTLE — Seattle City Council Member Lorena Gonzalez tells KIRO 7 she is running for Washington State Attorney General.

Gonzalez was a civil rights attorney before she was elected to the City Council. She's in the middle of her second term as a council member.

She talked with KIRO 7 Reporter Essex Porter about why she decided to run.

"What in your heart tells you that you should run for attorney general now?" Porter asked.

"As a woman, as a person of color, as a daughter of immigrants. When I look around and see the amount of hate and white nationalism that is coming out in our society. Lawyers like the attorney general role in protecting people from that kind of conduct. And so, for me, it's very personal to want to step back into the role as a practicing attorney to again make sure the rights of Washingtonians are protected across the state," said Gonzalez.

Gonzalez said current Attorney General Bob Ferguson has done an amazing job, but that she will run for the office whether or not he decides to seek re-election.

Ferguson is widely expected to run for governor if Jay Inslee doesn't seek a third term.

Before joining the City Council, Gonzales was notably the attorney for Martin Monetti Jr., who sued the city of Seattle after he was stomped on by a Seattle police officer in 2010 as the officer threatened to beat the "Mexican piss" out of him.  The incident was captured on video and the incident garnered nationwide attention.

The lawsuit was later settled for $150,000.