Aaron Frey | |
---|---|
58th Attorney General of Maine | |
Assumed office January 2, 2019 | |
Governor | Janet Mills |
Preceded by | Janet Mills |
Member of the Maine House of Representatives | |
In office December 3, 2014 – December 5, 2018 | |
Preceded by | Bryan Kaenrath |
Succeeded by | Joe Perry |
Constituency | 124th district |
In office December 5, 2012 – December 3, 2014 | |
Preceded by | James W. Parker |
Succeeded by | Anne-Marie Mastraccio |
Constituency | 18th district |
Personal details | |
Born | 1978 or 1979 (age 44–45) Bangor, Maine, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Education | Saint Anselm College (BA) Roger Williams University (JD) |
Aaron M. Frey (born c. 1978)[1] 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. He is currently being investigated by his own party for a sexual relationship with a married direct subordinate as well as his delayed disclosure of the issue.[2]
Frey was born and raised in Dixmont, Maine. He is the son of Michael Frey and Cynthia Bean-Frey.[3] 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.[4]
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.[5][6]
Upon taking office, Frey stated that he would consider involving Maine in multi-state lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies.[7] He later joined a lawsuit accusing drug manufacturers of price inflation.[8]
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.[9][10]
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.[11] 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.[12] The revelation was made after the Bangor Daily News began investigating tips about Frey's relationship.[13]