Cabán Gives Up Challenge to Katz Victory in Queens DA Primary
The end of ballot-counting virtually assures that Katz, who currently serves as Queens borough president, would become the first woman ever elected as DA in Queens.
August 06, 2019 at 09:23 PM
5 minute read
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:
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllNYC's Administrative Court's to Publish Some Rulings in the New York Law Journal Is Welcomed. But It Should Go Further
4 minute readSidley Austin Scores Landmark Civil Rights Verdict Against Prolonged Solitary Confinement in State Prisons
Cuomo Spokesman Sues Wigdor, Alleging Their Lawsuit on Behalf of Trooper Was 'Legally Baseless'
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
Dechert partners Andrew J. Levander, Angela M. Liu and Neil A. Steiner have stepped in to defend Arbor Realty Trust and certain executives in a pending securities class action. The complaint, filed July 31 in New York Eastern District Court by Levi & Korsinsky, contends that the defendants concealed a 'toxic' mobile home portfolio, vastly overstated collateral in regards to the company's loans and failed to disclose an investigation of the company by the FBI. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen, is 1:24-cv-05347, Martin v. Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Arthur G. Jakoby, Ryan Feeney and Maxim M.L. Nowak from Herrick Feinstein have stepped in to defend Charles Dilluvio and Seacor Capital in a pending securities lawsuit. The complaint, filed Sept. 30 in New York Southern District Court by the Securities and Exchange Commission, accuses the defendants of using consulting agreements, attorney opinion letters and other mechanisms to skirt regulations limiting stock sales by affiliate companies and allowing the defendants to unlawfully profit from sales of Enzolytics stock. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr., is 1:24-cv-07362, Securities and Exchange Commission v. Zhabilov et al.
Who Got The Work
Clark Hill members Vincent Roskovensky and Kevin B. Watson have entered appearances for Architectural Steel and Associated Products in a pending environmental lawsuit. The complaint, filed Aug. 27 in Pennsylvania Eastern District Court by Brodsky & Smith on behalf of Hung Trinh, accuses the defendant of discharging polluted stormwater from its steel facility without a permit in violation of the Clean Water Act. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Gerald J. Pappert, is 2:24-cv-04490, Trinh v. Architectural Steel And Associated Products, Inc.
Who Got The Work
Michael R. Yellin of Cole Schotz has entered an appearance for S2 d/b/a the Shoe Surgeon, Dominic Chambrone a/k/a Dominic Ciambrone and other defendants in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The case, filed July 15 in New York Southern District Court by DLA Piper on behalf of Nike, seeks to enjoin Ciambrone and the other defendants in their attempts to build an 'entire multifaceted' retail empire through their unauthorized use of Nike’s trademark rights. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, is 1:24-cv-05307, Nike Inc. v. S2, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Sullivan & Cromwell partner Adam S. Paris has entered an appearance for Orthofix Medical in a pending securities class action arising from a proposed acquisition of SeaSpine by Orthofix. The suit, filed Sept. 6 in California Southern District Court, by Girard Sharp and the Hall Firm, contends that the offering materials and related oral communications contained untrue statements of material fact. According to the complaint, the defendants made a series of misrepresentations about Orthofix’s disclosure controls and internal controls over financial reporting and ethical compliance. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Linda Lopez, is 3:24-cv-01593, O'Hara v. Orthofix Medical Inc. et al.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250