Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna would continue his national fight against human trafficking if elected governor in 2012.

Highlighting his role in a recent national attorneys general effort, he spoke at the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday on non-profit and civic leadership Wednesday.

If anything, a move to governor would strengthen his work. “I’d like to take it to the National Governors Association,” McKenna said.

The governor’s office would have more influence in writing law and aiding human trafficking victims.

Washington was the first state to make human trafficking a crime. A pimp from the Westside Street Mobb was convicted in 2009.

Three years ago McKenna helped lead an effort among 42 states to crack down on illegal Craigslist postings, some of which contained child pornography and human trafficking.

The online focus is continuing this year. He announced a new focus on backpage.com, which owns the Seattle Weekly. The website is known to market hundreds of young girls for prostitution, he said.

Challenging the “happy hooker” perception, he said about 90 percent of prostitutes don’t willingly enter the trade.

Even if there was a large volume of women who pursued the business, he can’t continue to allow the degradation to continue, he said.

As president of the National Association of Attorneys General, he chose to focus on the issue for his 2011-2012 term.

The international trade makes up a $32 billion business, he said. “The risk of getting caught is really low, and the (financial) benefit is really high.”

Not all human trafficking is prostitution. In the United States about three-fourths of it is labor servitude, including farmers, cooks and even house servants.

McKenna also turned his focus on the significance of non-profits.

“I do believe if you make your neighborhood a better place, you’ve contributed to the world,” he said.

He added the state should continue to fund non-profits, even suggesting that they should be given the opportunity to bid against state employees for projects.

“In many cases the most efficient way for government to deliver services is through non-profits,” he said, adding that they have shown a more effective use of resources.