New Missouri AG breaks from predecessors with different priorities | Opinion
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, barely two weeks on the job — “I think this is Day 15,” Hanaway said Tuesday — laid out some of her priorities at the monthly Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners meeting.
And quite honestly, those priorities could and should benefit some of our most vulnerable citizens: low-income residents and older adults.
During brief remarks at police headquarters, Hanaway told commissioners that she’s focused on consumer protection and other issues everyday Missourians should appreciate — as a board, we can certainly respect Hanaway’s promised approach to the job.
Unlike her predecessors, Hanaway said she does not intend to spend much time on constitutional issues. While she commended the work done by previous Attorneys General Josh Hawley, Eric Schmitt and Andrew Bailey, Hanaway said her approach to governing would be much different than theirs.
“We have done a good job as an office under General Hawley, General Schmitt, General Bailey of focusing on big constitutional issues,” Hanaway said.
“I think that there is a lot of room for improvement in kind of some of the mundane and boring things. But the things that the AG’s office has responsibility for aren’t so boring if they happen to you, like Medicaid fraud, consumer fraud, fraud on the elderly, fraud after a big storm. That isn’t something that local prosecutors have as much capacity to do and we do have direct jurisdiction.”
What she must focus on
Hanaway spoke of the attorney general office’s willingness to work with local law enforcement officials, including Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves and Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson, to make life better for local residents. To that end, we must remind Hanaway that a pervasive issue in Kansas City and surrounding areas — illegal towing practices — falls under the purview of her office as well.
We urge Hanaway to bring an end to these deceptive consumer practices in this city and elsewhere.
Here, Johnson and the Kansas City Council have done an admirable job holding some of these bad actors to account for their questionable actions. Johnson has filed felony charges against one local tow truck owner and his mother, and continues to investigate other tow companies for alleged predatory practices.
Working with Johnson, the council approved more punitive measures for illegal towing as well.
Collaboration with law enforcement
On Tuesday, Hanaway made it known that she will use a collaborative approach to crime with our local leaders.
“One of the first things that I realized is that it is so important that this is a partnership between Kansas City, the leadership and our office,” Hanaway said.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas thanked Hanaway for being willing to help fight crime here.
“We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate,” Lucas said. “We look forward to partnering with the attorney general’s office.”
Appointed to the position by Gov. Mike Kehoe, Hanaway replaced former Missouri AG Bailey, who resigned office to take a job with President Donald Trump’s administration in Washington, D.C., as co-deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Bailey’s abrupt departure followed a familiar pattern — neither he, Hawley nor Schmitt finished a full term as AG before setting off for higher office. Hawley and Schmitt, both Republicans, represent Missouri in the U.S. Senate.
Hanaway, 61, a former federal prosecutor, Missouri House speaker and Republican candidate for governor, was sworn in as the state’s 45th attorney general Sept. 8. She is the first woman to occupy that post.
History aside, Hanway has an opportunity to make life better for Kansas Citians and other area residents, and she should start by partnering with Johnson and Kansas City police to bring an end to predatory towing and other illegal acts that hurt consumers across Missouri.
This story was originally published September 24, 2025 at 5:08 AM.