In 1993, when New York City voters faced their first referendum on term-limits for local elected-officials, sixty per cent decided on the imposition. In 2010, voters upheld this decision for a third time in seventeen years. The margin was even wider: three to one. The only offices left exempt from term-limits are those of the five district attorneys -one for each NYC County.
This exemption allowed men like Robert Morgenthau – former New York County (Manhattan) DA- to stay in office for more than thirty years. It has been generally observed that complacency sets in once elected-officials stay too long in one office. It’s one of the reasons why initiatives on term-limits usually do well all across this country.
In 2009, the ninety year old Morgenthau decided not to seek re-election. Given the numerous and distinct advantages that incumbents hold over their opponents here, it is highly likely that he would have been re-elected had he chosen to run again. Morgenthau’s decision enabled the relatively young Cyrus Vance -a democrat from a prominent political family- to win a competitive multi-candidate race.
In this city, competitive races for this office are rarely seen; usually, the incumbents have no primary challenge. Beyond Richmond County (Staten Island/Republican Daniel Donovan-DA) democrats win these general elections like the results are rigged. It’s time to change this.
A major problem for challengers to incumbent district attorneys stems from the NYC Campaign Finance rules. The public matching-funds program doesn’t allow access to DA candidates. This is quite surprising, given that the program enables the financially-disadvantaged to be more competitive (especially against incumbents in other offices). Maybe it is time to revisit these two issues: term-limits for our district attorneys; and public campaign-financing (matching funds, etcetera) for DA candidates.
The way things are going now, it appears that Mr. Vance -like other district attorneys from the Democratic Party- can now hold this position for life. In a city where democrats outnumber republicans by at least five to one on the registration rolls, the chances of defeat (barring a major scandal) seem remote.
DA Charles Hynes (Kings County/Brooklyn) was first elected in 1989. Likewise Robert Johnson (Bronx). Richard Brown recently became the longest serving Queens County DA, when he broke a record set back in 1883. He was first elected in 1991.
In the Bronx, most residents who favor the death penalty, yet the DA refuses to pursue it: even for the most heinous murderers. In Brooklyn, there are many in the black community who feel it is time for Charles Hynes to retire. They believe that he has always been politically connected to the Dems party-machine in King’s county, in a manner that’s troubling. The feeling is that he is politically-compromised (prima facie). They also think his office recommends sending too many young black men to prison -and later a lifetime of hardship and recidivism- when alternative sentencing formulas could be better utilized and applied.
In Queens, the office of the DA has been known to make numerous mistakes in terms of overzealous prosecution. They have also been exposed as being inept at times. In every borough there are many claims of injustice coming from minorities (Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, et al). In Brooklyn, a black male who did about fourteen years in prison -for a crime he didn’t commit- now claims to have documented evidence of at least fifty-five other black men who were supposedly “railroaded” by DA Hynes’s office. This is undoubtedly an extreme claim; but nonetheless, a class-action lawsuit is in the works.
And let’s not forget the infamous case of attorney John O’Hara, who was prosecuted for voting from his girlfriend’s address. What was striking about this case was the fact that without any compassion for O’Hara’s plight, Hynes himself acknowledged having had two residences also. One was in Breezy Point, Queens; at times, the other was the DA’s office-building downtown; and at other times, some SRO in Bay Ridge/Bensonhurst.
Throughout the five NYC counties, we can find many examples of folks totally dissatisfied with the office of district attorney. We can also find countless lawsuits against them, from individuals seeking redress for perceived grievances and errors.
Every year, the mistakes made by various District Attorneys and their staffers cost taxpayers millions; and yet, you hardly ever hear, read, or see mainstream-media aggressively going after those at fault. It’s time to seriously study -and objectively measure- the performances of all five offices. The findings may cause some dismay.
Stay tuned-in folks.