Georgia AG-elect Tanya Miller targets grocery price spikes

We made a promise, a promise that justice in Georgia will never be reserved for the wealthy, the powerful, or just the politically connected. Well, it has been a huge week for politics nationwide and here in Georgia. Once again, our state made national headlines. This time, it was for a blue wave that washed over the typically red state. And you just heard from one of the successful candidates, Attorney General-elect Tanya Miller. She's the first woman to be elected to that office. She joins us now on the couch for a first look at what she says she'll do for you. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much for having me. Of course. Now, before we get serious, let's just take a moment to get to know you. I know you're a mom, originally from Ohio. How'd you end up here in Georgia? Give us that spiel. Well, you know, I grew up in the Midwest. I talked a lot about my working class upbringing. My mom was a union worker. I came to Georgia for a job. I got offered a job at the Fulton County District Attorney's Office, a supervising job. And so I moved down here, moved my daughter down here, raised my daughter down here. And essentially have practiced law for the better part of two decades here in Georgia, always focused on the people's work. Yeah. And it sounds like this is all your daughter has ever known. And now she knows you as an elected official. What was her reaction? Honestly, she believed I was going to win like from day one. So for her, her faith in me, I guess, or just her because I'm her mommy. She just couldn't imagine that I would not win. So she's over the moon excited. I'm excited. I was very excited on election night, and then like two days later, she's back to texting me about, you know, miscellaneous random things. Where's my shampoo? Can you stop by CVS and grab me vitamins? Typical mommy-daughter interactions. It has gone back to typical mommy-daughter, yes. Well, another typical mommy-daughter interaction is probably, you know, where are you? Are you safe? And I know that that's one of the things that you really ran on, is that you believe you're going to be able to keep Georgia safe from human trafficking, to drugs, even recidivism. Yes. And I noted that you are an undefeated homicide prosecutor. So how does that make you the right person to keep Georgia safe? Well, you know, the attorney general's job is a protection job, and that is what prosecutors do every day. I was a prosecutor for the better part of a decade, 10 years as a prosecutor. What I told the folks on the campaign was this, what resonated with voters and what my mandate is, is to protect the people. We're going to protect them from violent crime, from a place of deep experience. We're going to protect consumers from all the corporations that are ripping them off. And we're going to protect our democracy and the civil liberties of our citizens. So I think prosecutors are uniquely trained to view that in a certain way. The activity itself is not political. Prosecutors don't move that way. And so I intend to bring that experience, that feel to the office, that the office is for the people. Let's talk about something you just said, rip-offs, price gouging. You said that you were going to really look at grocery prices, operations, or the supply chain to court if needed. How are you going to be able to do that? I know the Attorney General does not actually rewrite Georgia laws or set prices, so what is the tangible thing that you're going to be able to do to affect our wallets? Well, like everything else, when you are a regulator or you are an enforcer, you follow the facts and you follow the law. What we know is that Georgia, like many states across the country, have had citizens, consumers, being ripped off in grocery stores. As we've heard about the recent case brought in North Carolina by Attorney General Jackson against a chain that had a practice of posting one price and then charging another price. Certainly we've heard the horror stories about price gouging in South Georgia, particularly after natural disasters. The Attorney General has the responsibility for enforcing the anti-price gouging statute. And certainly the Consumer Protection Office was once in the governor's wheelhouse, is the Attorney General's wheelhouse. So it is literally our responsibility to do it. And I think the difference in what Folks will see, you know, in my administration is that it will be a priority for us. We will take consumer protection very seriously. We will investigate whatever resources we have to, to make sure that consumers are not being ripped off. We know what's happening. And like any good prosecutor, you follow the facts, you follow the law and you prove your case. Similarly, utility rate changes have been a big topic around Georgia. We see Georgia The power rate's going up, $16, $21. That can really hit a family where it hurts. So what to you constitutes as a fair rate change? Well, I think when you look at rate changes, certainly multiple rate changes, hikes in a short period of time should raise questions. Why are you raising rates? Why are you raising rates if it is somehow a mismanagement issue on your part? I think if there are legitimate, If there are legitimate service issues for raising rates aside from sheer profit, aside from passing on your losses to the consumer, then that is something that the PSC should take and regulate and evaluate. Um, as appropriate, but if, uh, consumers are being taken advantage of, uh, with these rate hikes, if these rate hikes are not justified, if these rate hikes are for pure profit, if these rate hikes are to clean up the mess that you yourself created as a utility company, I do not think that is appropriate. Um, but you know, we have, uh, some new members on the, uh, Public Service Commission, who are very committed to making sure that consumers and customers are being treated fairly in any assessment of whether a rate hike is appropriate. Okay, and it sounds like you're already starting to get to know those folks. Absolutely, absolutely. You know, we all campaign together all across the state. Certainly, we're often in the same place, shared ideas, talked about each other's policies, heard each other talk about policies. Look, I think, you know, Democrats have been talking. We've been talking a long time about affordability. We've been talking a long time about the cost of living even before it became a buzzword. So I think, I will say that I am honored to be, I was honored to be on a ticket with Democrats who were focused, laser focused on working in middle class families and I am honored to serve with those Democrats and work collectively and collaboratively to relieve our citizens At every turn, we want to see our citizens prosper. We want to see our citizens safe. And we want to make sure that working and middle class families are being treated fairly. I've got two important questions for you. One, I want to address as quickly as possible. You said you would not be afraid to go after the Trump administration if you needed to. We see how that went with Fani Willis after his attempt to overturn Georgia's 2020 election. Now, of course, after this election, the conversation has been very different. Across the board, people seem to have accepted. the results. But what is an example of a federal action that you would absolutely sue over? Well, I think any action, as I've said on the campaign trail, that violates our Constitution, that violates the laws of the state of Georgia, that interferes with the sacred right to vote, the citizens' sacred constitutional right to vote, it is critical in a democracy. In a democracy, the citizens choose their leaders. Leaders do not get to pick and choose their citizens. So we will be on the lookout for it. For anything that violates the law, as I've said multiple times, you know, the attorney general is the chief law enforcement officer. My job is to enforce the law. It is to enforce the Constitution. So, for example, you shouldn't be calling asking someone to find you 11,780 votes. You should not be interfering with state election processes. You should not be harassing state election workers. All of those things, in my mind, are... inappropriate actions, potentially unlawful actions, and I will not hesitate, as I promised the people, to take anyone to court, including the president, if there is any interference with free and fair elections in Georgia. Lastly, you said that you are going to be the people's lawyer. You really seem to mean that as I'm sitting on this couch with you. But four years from now, what is it that you want people to remember about your time as Georgia's attorney general? I want the people to see their attorney general going to bat for them every day, to see the attorney general taking on big fights for folks who are harming them, creating unsafe conditions. for them, scamming them, ripping them off. Every citizen in this state should know who their attorney general is and if I'm doing my job, I'm doing my best job, my hope is that every citizen will be able to say something, point to something, some tangible thing that the attorney general has done to make their life better. Well, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it. And we wish you the best of luck. I appreciate that. Because if you do well, Georgia does well. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. If you guys are interested, you can watch this entire interview on fox5atlanta.com. Just click on the Good Day section. It'll be there for you.