gothamist: Get to know the candidates for NYC’s district attorney primaries
As the debate over how to keep New Yorkers safe while also reforming the criminal justice system continues to divide many city residents, voters will go to the polls on Tuesday to choose the person tasked with making many difficult public safety decisions: the district attorney.
In the Bronx, a progressive defense attorney is challenging incumbent DA Darcel Clark, a Democrat who has led the office with a mix of reform-mindedness and a tough-on-crime approach. In Queens, a public defender and a former judge are running against incumbent DA Melinda Katz, a career politician with a war chest that dwarfs the campaign contributions of her opponents. There are no Republicans running for district attorney in either borough this primary season.
In Staten Island, Richmond County DA Michael McMahon, a Democrat, is running unopposed.
Next Tuesday’s primary follows a third round of rollbacks to the 2019 state legislation that prohibited judges from setting bail for many crimes. The race also comes amid ongoing frustration from district attorneys about discovery reform, a 2019 state law that imposed stricter deadlines for prosecutors to turn over evidence to defense lawyers.
The candidates in the two contested races are all Democrats who generally agree with the basic tenets of criminal justice reform. But their stances fall at different points along the political spectrum, and their visions for the role of top prosecutor vary.
Gothamist interviewed all the candidates and reviewed their campaign materials. We also asked them about their stance on three recent changes to state criminal justice laws: bail reform, discovery reform and Raise the Age, which prevents 16- and 17-year-olds from being prosecuted in adult court in most cases. Here are some key facts you should know before casting your vote:
If you're a Democrat voting in Queens:
George Grasso
George Grasso is a former NYPD officer who served in a range of positions within the department, from foot patrols in southeast Queens to deputy police commissioner. Grasso also went to law school while working on patrol, and after rising through the ranks, he left the department in 2010 to accept a judicial appointment from then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
As a judge, Grasso created the city’s “CourtStat” system to reduce the amount of time between arrest and arraignment. He also helped to develop programs to divert teens from the court system and worked with Bronx DA Darcel Clark to form the Overdose and Avoidance Recovery Court.
Grasso said he is “nerdish” when it comes to improving the court system — including finding ways to keep people out of Rikers and connecting defendants with mental health and substance abuse treatment.
“I don't want you to end up with a criminal record. Or if you have to go to jail, I want the minimal amount of time in jail,” he said in an interview. “But here's what I need from you: If you have one of these myriad of problems, I need you to work with the court. I need you to work with the DA. I need you to work with your lawyer. I need you to work with the service providers.”
Grasso considers himself a progressive and calls himself the “program judge,” because of all the programs he championed to support people passing through the criminal justice system. He says he wants to create a mental health bureau to better support people with behavioral health challenges who come into contact with the court system. But he also wants to use the office to prosecute quality of life crimes, like drug dealing, shoplifting, trespassing and auto theft.
Grasso’s stance on:
Bail reform: Agrees with the law in concept but says there were unforeseen consequences, including taking away the leverage that has traditionally made it easier to get people into treatment courts and other pretrial services. He also wants a “dangerousness” standard, which would allow judges to set bail for someone they believe poses a public safety threat.
Discovery reform: Says he “absolutely” agrees with the concept but thinks the law needs to be improved to reduce the number of cases that are dismissed due to missed deadlines for turning over evidence.
Raise the Age: Thinks judges should have more authority to keep cases in adult court for 16 and 17 year olds who present “a clear risk to public safety.”
Early voting is already underway. Election Day is Tuesday, June 27. Voters who are registered to vote in the primary can learn more at vote.nyc.
Written by Samantha Max, Gothamist
https://gothamist.com/news/bronx-queens-district-attorney-primary-elections
