Manhattan District Attorney Retiring, Race ‘Wide Open’ for Successor

NEW YORK
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance  at Manhattan Supreme Court, in New York in 2017. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. has confirmed he will not run for a fourth term, leaving the position open in a hotly-contested race widely expected to be expensive and brutal.

Vance has served in the role since 2010, the New York Post reported. He recently won a Supreme Court battle against Donald Trump to gain access to the former president’s tax returns. It is likely his successor will complete his investigation into Trump’s financial dealings.

“Representing the People of New York during this pivotal era for our city and our justice system has been the privilege of a lifetime,” Vance said in a statement to his staff. “Working in partnership with Manhattan communities, the D.A.’s Office we built together over the last decade has taken us beyond the ambitious blueprint we laid out in 2009.”

He listed his accomplishments in community safety, justice system reform, and responding to terrorism and cybercrimes.

With Vance stepping aside, contenders for the powerful legal position include Tali Weinstein, a Persian Jewish woman who served in the Brooklyn DA’s office as general counsel and taught law in NYU; Alvin Bragg, former chief deputy attorney general in New York state; Liz Crotty, a former assistant Manhattan district attorney; and Manhattan Assembly member Dan Quart.

“It’s a completely wide open race at this point. Most of the public doesn’t know any of these candidates really well yet,” Janos Marton, who had ended his own run for the position in December, told the Post.

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smarcus@hamodia.com 

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