An upstate Democrat is launching a longshot write-in campaign to keep his job as prosecutor – criticizing bail reform and other criminal justice reforms in New York.
Albany County District Attorney David Soares, who has been in office since 2005, is campaigning again after losing a June party primary to rival Lee Kindlon by 10 percentage points.
“The issues that I’m running on are statewide issues. I’ve been the sole voice of the criticisms here on bail reform. These reforms are harming our communities,” Soares said on 770 WABC’s the Cats Roundtable.
Criminal justice reforms enacted in 2019 eliminated cash bail for mostly non-violent felony crimes, a move that critics say has led to a rise in crime.
“We see more young men of color murdered on the streets by other young men of color, who are allowed to access the revolving door to the criminal justice system,” said Soares.
Soares blamed his primary loss on his public criticism of the cashless bail law and other reforms.
He blamed “the irresponsible bail laws that basically deprived judges of the discretion [and] deprived police officers in many instances from being able to make arrests,” thus emboldening criminals.
“We are living in one of the most important states in the country, and we cannot put handcuffs on people who are committing crimes … We allow for criminals to just continuously steal,” Soares said.
But primary winner Kindlon dismissed Soares as a write-in candidate, citing concerns over Soares’ use of state grant funds.
Ralph Ambrosio is the Republican candidate in the race and the two will face off on Tuesday.
Write-in campaigns are rarely successful, but in 2021, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown won a fifth term as a write-in candidate after losing in the Democratic primary.
Ambrosio, the Republican candidate, is hoping to win with Soares and Kindlon splitting the Democratic vote.
