the queens daily eagle: Dem DA candidate teases third party run as he launches campaign

With a little over two months until the Democratic primary for the Queens district attorney’s race, former Queens Judge George Grasso symbolically began his campaign on the steps of Borough Hall on Monday.

Though Grasso launched his campaign against incumbent District Attorney Melinda Katz in the fall, he announced on Monday that his campaign was now up and running in full, having recently filed the needed petition signatures in order to get his name on the ballot.

“This is real now…I consider this the official first day of my campaign,” he said.

Grasso made his remarks shortly after having dropped off his 9,500 signatures with the Board of Elections, significantly fewer signatures than Katz’s 23,000.

Challenging Katz, who has already brought in a number of high-profile endorsements and who has the support of the Queens County Democratic Party, Grasso, whose top donors include a number of Republicans, said that he’s already begun planning a bid as a third party candidate should he not secure the Democratic nomination on June 27.

“I'm not only considering running on the third party line, I've already taken legal steps to begin the process,” he said. “Because not only because I'm a glutton for punishment, I'm all in on this. So, I've taken legal steps, I'm going to create a third party line, we're going to call it the public safety line.”

“I'm going to secure a strategy that no matter what happens on June 27, I plan to have a line on Nov. 7,” he added.

Katz announced her nearly 23,000 petition signatures on April 4.

“When I took office, I made a promise to the people of Queens that we would make this office the most effective it can be, we would work day and night to keep our communities safe, and we would be able to improve the fairness of our criminal justice system,” said Katz.

In the last few months, Katz has tied up endorsements from Borough President Donovan Richards, Representatives Greg Meeks and Grace Meng, as well a handful of noted trade unions and the Uniformed Firefighters Union.

Grasso has garnered fewer endorsements, announcing the backing from former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, who Grasso previously worked under, in February.

On Monday, Grasso was supported by several representatives from various retired police organizations, including the Retired Lieutenants Association and the Retired Police Association of New York State.

Grasso told the Eagle in February he felt that Bratton’s endorsement was “weightier” than the ones Katz had received. He made similar remarks, and accused Katz of being part of the Queens County Democratic Party establishment, on Monday.

“I have an incumbent DA who's basically been part of that apparatus since she rolled out of the cradle,” Grasso said, adding that the “union cabals” at 1199SEIU and District Council 37 that have endorsed Katz are led by lobbyists and political action committees.

Much of Grasso’s campaign has been centered around the 2019 bail reforms and the city’s crime rate. The former NYPD officer and criminal court judge says that the reforms need to be scaled back and that the DA should take a more active role in prosecuting crimes.

“Queens is out of control during the tenure of Melinda Katz,” he said.

In response to Grasso’s remarks on Monday, Katz’s campaign fired back.

"While her opponent cozies up to far right extremists and seeks their support, District Attorney Katz is doing the job Queens families elected her to do - and working every day to keep them safe,” said campaign spokesperson Max Kramer. “She'll continue getting guns off the streets, holding abusers and traffickers accountable, and taking on hate and transit crimes to protect all in our communities.”

“And because of this work, we're confident voters will give her four more years at the helm,” he added.

On Monday Grasso also said that he thinks the climate has changed from the last DA race, when Katz just narrowly beat now-City Councilmember Tiffany Cabán, who ran to her left, by only around 50 votes.

If the petition numbers and early fundraising numbers are any indication, Grasso has some catching up to do for the Democratic ticket. However, that may not be his only potential route.

In a comment to City and State last week, where the outlet reported on Grasso's relationships with conservative groups, Grasso said he had not had “any serious conversations with Queens Republicans” on whether or not he could run on the Republican ticket, which he echoed on Monday.

“As far as the Republicans, and what they might want to do, speak to their leadership,” he said.

As of now, the Republican party is backing Michael Mossa, an Ozone Park based lawyer, City and State reported. Mossa has not made any filings in the race, however.

The Queens County Republican Party did not respond to request for comment on Monday.

“When I say that I want to give independents and Republicans an opportunity to weigh in, and vote for me, because they are entitled to public safety as much as anybody else,” Grasso said. “I'm not putting all my eggs in the Democratic line basket.”

Written by Ryan Schwach, The Queens Daily Eagle

https://queenseagle.com/all/2023/4/11/dem-da-candidate-teases-third-party-run-as-he-launches-campaign