I announced my run for District Attorney of Westchester County in 2019 because I believed the DA’s Office needed to modernize as our understanding of the criminal justice system evolved. We needed to better serve victims, be more efficient and transparent, and be more proactive in building trust with our communities. We needed a balanced approach that was tough on violent crime and corruption, and flexible and creative with low-level, non-violent crime to help reduce recidivism, racism and unfairness in the criminal justice system. It was for this reason that I jumped into the political arena, took on the establishment and won in 2020. These were urgent changes that needed to happen and these are the very changes my team and I have implemented over the past three years as District Attorney. I am tremendously proud of what we have accomplished.
Driving change in government at any level is challenging, especially through the COVID-19 pandemic and massive changes in discovery rules. I am grateful to the career prosecutors and staff who have stepped up to new challenges during tough times, and our newer hires who are helping usher in a new era of criminal justice. What we have achieved together is remarkable.
I do not fit the mold of a career politician. I have approached the role of DA as I have always approached being a prosecutor over the past 20 years: I make decisions about cases and policies based on facts, law, public safety, and what is the right thing to do. I have never made decisions based on political or personal motivations. For that reason, I am confident that the changes we have implemented in the office will continue to make Westchester safer, fairer, and more just. However, I have decided that I will not seek re-election for this office and I am announcing that now to ensure that there is adequate time for qualified candidates to launch campaigns and for an orderly transition.
There is still more work to be done to bring to Westchester a truly modern, independent, and apolitical justice system. This is a national issue that I frequently speak about and advocate for. My proposal for necessary ethics reform in our county, which can be found here, details why we must establish policies and procedures that strengthen the independence of the DA’s Office so that politics and outside influence play no role in our criminal justice system.
This has been a difficult decision but one that is right for me and my family at this time. As I approached the decision whether to run for a second term, my thoughts have been occupied in recent weeks by the terrorist attack on Israel and the aftermath, which has profoundly and personally impacted me in ways that I did not expect. I do not know what my next role will be. But I do know that I will work to raise public awareness and advocate for the extremely necessary ethical reforms for our county, continue to fight for truth and justice, and work on pressing national and world-wide issues.
I am confident that the dedicated prosecutors at the DA’s Office will continue to carry out the great work being done day in and day out. I thank everyone serving at the Westchester DA’s Office for all that they have done to help me implement the changes that were so important to the voters of this county, and I thank the voters for giving me this chance to help move the office forward and keep Westchester’s families safe. It has been, and continues to be, my honor to serve you.