Attorneys for Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, Marty Connor (foreground right) and Michael Reich (background right) examine a ballot during the vote recount in the primary election for Queens County District Attorney between Katz and public defender Tiffany Cabán, in Queens in July. (Photo: Richard Drew/AP)

Tiffany Cabán, the 32-year-old public defender and political upstart who ran a close Democratic primary race for Queens district attorney, conceded her challenge to the results Tuesday night, after a legal challenge fell short of closing the gap between her and Melinda Katz.

The end of the challenge virtually assures that Katz, who currently serves as Queens borough president, would become the first woman ever elected as DA in Queens.

In a series of tweets, Cabán thanked her supporters and touted her campaign’s accomplishments–forcing the issue of ending cash bail into the mainstream, pushing the decriminalization of sex work into the U.S. presidential campaign–and calling for continued change.

“This was always about more than one person or one campaign—this is about building a movement together. The organizing does not stop. And we’re just getting started,” she said in one tweet.

“To every young person, to every woman, to every person of color, to every Queer person, every single human being who was inspired by the campaign we built—you are next. And I promise, I will be the first one knocking doors for you,” she said.

Katz thanked her rival for the concession.

“I want to thank Tiffany Cabán for bringing closure to this long and hard-fought race,” she said in a statement. “Too often, the process of primary campaigns obscures the vast commonalities we share as Democrats and reformers. We all want a safe Queens where everyone is treated equally.”

Cabán’s campaign garnered national attention with her promise to remake the Queens criminal justice system and to attack the root causes of crime.

Katz, who as borough president was seen as the “establishment” candidate, chose in her statement Tuesday to stress her own reform agenda.

“From the beginning of this race, I have been committed to bringing fundamental change to the District Attorney’s office,” Katz said. “With the horrors of this past weekend still in my mind, I believe we need to focus on reducing gun violence and put an end to the proliferation of hate crimes.”

“I look forward to pressing ahead with my reform agenda as District Attorney, and I ask all Queens residents, regardless of whom they supported in this race, to join together to make our borough a model for successful, safe reform.”

Cabán, who identifies as a queer Latina, had emerged from a crowded primary field to lead Katz by as many as 1,100 votes on election night June 25. Katz, however, refused to exit the race, and eventually took a razor-thin lead into a two-week manual recount that concluded late last month.

The state Board of Elections on July 29 officially declared Katz the winner by 60 votes, clearing the way for Cabán to challenge the results in court.

Cabán campaign elections attorneys, led by Jerry H. Goldfeder, targeted dozens of votes that it said were improperly disqualified due to a series of “ministerial” and other errors by the BOE.

But on Tuesday, the campaign ran out of ballots still available to tip the race in her favor. As of Tuesday evening, Cabán trailed Katz by 55 votes, with only 49 uncounted ballots remaining, prompting renewed calls from the Katz campaign for her to concede.

“There is nothing left to count, and there is absolutely no math that would overturn Melinda’s lead,” Katz spokesman Matthew Rey said in a statement. “It is now time to allow Queens to move on in order to begin working on crucial reforms to the district attorney’s office.”

Goldfeder said “I was obviously disappointed by a number of the Court’s rulings. But that’s the process. The real shame is that some voters’ ballots were not counted because of arcane election laws.”

Katz, meanwhile, ran with the backing of the New York Democratic establishment, including those of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-New York, the Queens Democratic Party chair and the four major unions in New York City politics.

During the campaign, she pledged not to prosecute low-level marijuana offenses and vowed to crack down on hate crimes and gun violence.

On Tuesday, Cabán said she and her supporters had “terrified the Democratic establishment” and “forced the next district attorney to end all cash bail.”

“We showed that you can run on a boldly decarceral platform. You don’t have to compromise your values or give in to fear mongering. You don’t have to play by the old rules,” she said.

“This was always about more than one person or one campaign—this is about building a movement together. The organizing does not stop. And we’re just getting started.”

 

Read More:

Katz Certified as Democratic Nominee in Queens DA Race, Setting Up Legal Challenge

Katz Claims Victory as Democrats’ Battle for Queens DA Shifts to Courtroom

Cabán Campaign Eyes 114 Disputed Ballots Ahead of Queens DA Recount

Katz Claims Win in Queens DA Democratic Primary as Paper Ballots Appear to Put Her Ahead of Cabán

Cabán Taps Top Campaign Lawyer Ahead of Final Vote Count in Queens DA Primary