The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • A5

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10, 2018 5 METRO By Stephanie Ebbert GLOBE STAFF His foiled campaign to elim- inate state funding for abortion made him the leading political target of the Planned Parent- hood Advocacy Fund of Massa- chusetts this election season. Governor Charlie appearance with him at a sum- mer fund-raiser attracted a crowd of Democratic candi- dates and protesters holding signs with messages like Not Hate Makes America And transgender activists celebrating a win on Election Night served up one of their loudest cheers for the news pre- sented by cochair Kasey Suffre- dini: Representative James J. Lyons one of the people who had spearheaded the effort to repeal transgender rights, had been The four-term Republican legislator from Andover had be- come Massachusetts favorite villain this election cy- cle, his reelection hopes dashed by frustrations they take out on anyone else. Lyons was one of just 41 Re- publicans who make up a little over one-quarter of the state Legislature, and his ultra-con- servative bent kept even some fellow Republicans at a dis- tance. But in these highly con- tentious times, his ouster car- ried more than its proportion- ate weight.

His loss to a female candi- date who once said he had an also con- tributed to the further dimin- ishing of Republican ranks on Beacon Hill. Republicans cur- rently hold 25.6 percent of the 200 positions. That share will drop to 19 per- cent, after the election even lower than the proportion of women, which will climb to 28.5 percent (from 24.5 per- cent.) Lyons was defeated by Tram Nguyen, a 32-year-old legal ser- vices attorney and first-time candidate whose campaign at- tracted support not only from reproductive rights organiza- tions but also List, for- mer president Barack Obama, and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. The newcomer won by 10 points. But Lyons bristles at the public notion that he was moti- vated by hate saying he had always tried to present with ci- vility his legitimate differences of opinion.

am very aggressive. I stand for what I believe he said. to have them catego- rize me in that fashion and my family in that fashion is simply To those who would say he spearheaded a discriminatory effort as one of the initial pe- titioners who put Question 3 on the ballot to repeal the law pro- tecting transgender people from discrimination in public places Lyons maintained he was misunderstood. He be- lieved transgender people would continue to be protected under other civil rights laws and that th i law mere ly stretched their access partic- ularly in bathrooms beyond a reasonable boundary. is what I believe Lyons said on Thursday.

position on the pro-life issue is what I believe in. They want to translate all that into old The 65-year-old, who owns Dandi-Lyons, a family-owned flower and ice cream shop busi- ness with several area loca- tions, going away anytime soon. He said he and his wife will remain active in anti-abor- tion causes locally. going to continue to speak out on it. Maybe someday that will make people realize it make us Lyons said.

places where we can find common ground where go- ing to be better Stephanie Ebbert can be reached at Stephanie.Ebbert@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter Ousted legislator says label By Martin Finucane GLOBE STAFF Attorney General Maura Healey of Massachusetts is one of 19 Democratic state attor- neys general who have written to acting US Attorney General Matt Whitaker, calling for him to recuse himself from oversee- ing special counsel Robert Mu- Russia investigation. a reasonable per- son could question your impar- tiality in the matter, your recus- al is necessary to protect the es- sential and longstanding independence of the depart- the attorneys general said in the letter, which was written by Healey. various opportunities, you have sug- gested cutting the special coun- budget or limiting his au- thority to follow lines of inqui- ry. prosecutors and law en- forcement officials committed to the rule of law, we believe that the independent Special Counsel must have the full au- thority to investigate and, if warranted, prosecute any viola- tions of federal The letter, sent Thursday to Whitaker, also said Deputy At- torney General Rod Rosenstein has supervised the Special investigation from its outset.

He should continue to do so, as Mr. work must proceed free from inter- ference or supervision that would appear to many Ameri- cans to be Healey said in a tweet that a US attorney general lead an empowered and indepen- dent Department of Eighteen attorneys general signed the letter on Thursday. attorney general, Janet Mills, added her signature on Friday, office said. Former attorney general Jeff Sessions, an early supporter of President Trump, was forced out a day after mid- term elections. sub- sequent appointment by Trump immediately raised worries that he would curtail in- vestigation into whether there was collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Trump has repeatedly called the investigation a and he has been critical of recusal from the Russia probe, which put Rosen- stein in charge of it. Trump said recusal was ly and he have given him the job if he had known he would recuse him- self. Whitaker, on the other hand, has no intention of recus- ing himself, according to people close to him. A Republican party loyalist who was chief of staff, Whitaker has publicly ques- tioned the probe. In a CNN op- ed, Whitaker called for limiting the scope of investiga- tion.

In a talk radio interview, he maintained there was no evi- dence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Asked about Whitaker on Friday, Trump told journalists: know Matt Whitaker. Matt Whitaker worked for Jeff Sessions, and he was always ex- tremely highly thought of, and he still is. But I know Matt Whitaker. He worked for Attorney General The New York Times report- ed Whitaker has made several visits to Trump in the Oval Of- fice.

Trump also said he had not spoken with Whitaker about probe. Material from Globe wire services was used in this report AGs want Whitaker to recuse himself News CONTACTS, TIPS, COMMENTS Switchboard: (617) 929-2000 (617) 929-7400 SPOTLIGHT TEAMTIP LINE (617) 929-7483 Customer service (888) 694-5623 Advertising DISPLAY (617) 929-2200 bostonglobemedia.com CLASSIFIED (617) 929-1500 boston.com/classifieds City Retail Other 7 day home delivery $20.00 20.00 20.00 Sunday only home delivery $8.00 8.00 8.00 Daily single copy $2.00 2.00 2.50 Sunday single copy $4.50 4.50 5.00 LANE STAFF FILES Maura Healey wrote to the acting US attorney general. Trump denies discussing Russia inquiry with Whitaker, Page 6. shop smart DO GOOD ALMOST EVERYTHING WITH LIMITED EXCLUSIONS ALMOST ALL BEAUTY plus A SHOPPING EVENT TO RAISE MONEY FOR LOCAL GROUPS AT OUR PRUDENTIAL CENTER STORE Today, November 10, 2018 AN ALL-DAY shopping event Shop all day Today, November 10, 2018 10am to 9pm at Lord Taylor The Prudential Center 760 Boylston Street, Boston proceeds from $5 ticket sales made from Monday, October 22 Saturday, November 10, 2018 in our Prudential Center store will benefit local non-profit organizations participating in the Shop Smart Do Good program. Tickets are only valid at the Prudential Center Today, November 10, 2018.

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