http://www.observer.com/term/2009-manhattan-district-attorney-election en http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/kennedy-helps-vance-raise-money Caroline Kennedy will be a guest at a fund-raiser for Manhattan district attorney candidate Cy Vance on Tuesday, June 23, according to this invitation. One bit of related trivia: The firm Kennedy hired when she was in the hunt for a Senate appointment, Knickerbocker SKD, is representing one of Vance’s rivals, Leslie Crocker... Politics 2009 Manhattan District Attorney Election Caroline Kennedy Cy Vance Local Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:20:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/kennedy-helps-vance-raise-money http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/what-we-missed-manhattan-da-race A spokesperson for a certain Manhattan district attorney candidate has threatened to poke his own eyes out if one more day passed without news on this site about the race. (Admittedly, we've been a little distracted lately.) So, to prevent any more Senate-related injuries, here’s a round-up of what’s been happening in the Manhattan district attorney’s race: Leslie Crocker Snyder She was endorsed on June 11 by Ed Koch, the three-term, pro-death-penalty mayor. At the event,... Politics 2009 Manhattan District Attorney Election 2009 Senate Coup Cy Vance Local Richard Aborn Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/what-we-missed-manhattan-da-race http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/paterson-promises-commission-police-killing-sharpton-looks-da-candidates David Paterson, emerging from a meeting of African-American leaders that included the Rev. Al Sharpton and Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, announced he will appoint a commission to examine incidents of "friendly fire" among police officers, including the events leading up to the death last week of Officer Omar Edwards in East Harlem, and that he may appoint a special prosecutor to look into the case. "I will not close the door to that, I will... Politics 2009 Manhattan District Attorney Election Al Sharpton Governor Local Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:22:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/paterson-promises-commission-police-killing-sharpton-looks-da-candidates http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/crocker-snyder-turned-down-soho-journal Leslie Crocker Snyder, the Manhattan district attorney candidate, turned down an interview request from the Soho Journal. A campaign source confirmed that her advisers did not want Crocker Snyder to do the interview, citing legal troubles of the monthly magazine's owner, Donald MacPherson. MacPherson pleaded not guilty to charges of grand larceny and "scheme to defraud," part of a sweeping $50 million mortgage fraud uncovered by the Suffolk County D.A. ... http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/crocker-snyder-turned-down-soho-journal#comments Politics 2009 Manhattan District Attorney Election Donald MacPherson Local Soho Journal Fri, 22 May 2009 11:06:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/crocker-snyder-turned-down-soho-journal http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/gerson-endorses-vance-officially Manhattan district attorney candidate Cy Vance announced he has received the endorsement of Alan Gerson, two district leaders, and a Democratic club in Chinatown. In a statement released by the campaign, Gerson emphasized Vance’s resume, something Vance is already using against Richard Aborn. “Cy Vance has the right experience and qualifications to lead the Manhattan DA’s office. As an experienced trial lawyer, on the side of both the prosecution and defense, he... Politics 2009 Manhattan District Attorney Election Cy Vance Herbert Kee Jenny Low Local Richard Aborn Tue, 19 May 2009 16:30:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/gerson-endorses-vance-officially http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/katrina-vanden-heuvel-has-endorsed-da-candidate Last month, I wrote about how Democrat Richard Aborn is running for Manhattan district attorney as a more liberal candidate than the job usually attracts. For example, he has said things like, “We have to make sure we’re not in the business of prosecuting everybody that is arrested, but prosecuting only those people who are guilty.” And early on, he called for an independent investigation into what he said could be "gay profiling." Even Aborn's law-and-order... Politics 2009 Manhattan District Attorney Election Local Richard Aborn Tue, 19 May 2009 15:13:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/katrina-vanden-heuvel-has-endorsed-da-candidate http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/aborns-early-endorsement-strategy Manhattan District Attorney candidate Richard Aborn announced today that he was endorsed by Assemblyman Dick Gottfried and a local Democrat club on the Lower East Side. This gives Aborn the backing of most of the elected officials--and both Democratic clubs--who have endorsed in the race, affording his campaign an opportunity for some purposeful chest-beating. In the press release announcing the Gottfried endorsement, they put quotes around the words "dark horse," to suggest incredulity.  Certainly, Aborn's endorsements... http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/aborns-early-endorsement-strategy#comments Politics 2009 Manhattan District Attorney Election Betsy Gotbaum Cy Vance Dick Gottfried Local Richard Aborn Mon, 11 May 2009 16:38:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/aborns-early-endorsement-strategy http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/another-candidate-manhattan-da The field of candidates to replace Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau may grow by one.   Eric Blinderman, an international litigator, has been calling voters to gauge interest in a potential candidacy, according to two readers who said they were told of the calls. One of those readers, who learned of the call from a colleague, passed along notes from the recipient. Blinderman, reached in his Manhattan office a few minutes ago, politely declined to comment, but... http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/another-candidate-manhattan-da#comments Politics 2009 Manhattan District Attorney Election Cy Vance Eric Blinderman Local Richard Aborn Mon, 11 May 2009 11:23:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/another-candidate-manhattan-da http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/richard-aborn-experiment If it weren't for Richard Aborn, the Manhattan district attorney election would look a lot like it did in 2005, when Leslie Crocker Snyder challenged Robert Morganthau. This year, it's Crocker Snyder vs. former Morgenthau aide and protégé Cy Vance—and Aborn, who is trying hard to turn his relative obscurity into an asset. “Well, as you know, there hasn’t been an open primary here in 35 years,” he told me recently. “No matter what framework you... http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/richard-aborn-experiment#comments Politics 2009 Manhattan District Attorney Election Local Richard Aborn Thu, 30 Apr 2009 06:00:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/richard-aborn-experiment http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/vance-meets-gerson This morning, Manhattan district attorney candidate Cy Vance is having breakfast with City Councilman Alan Gerson at the corner of Bleeker and Lafayette, Vance's campaign confirmed. So far, only one elected official in the race has made an endorsement, and that was Assemblyman Danny O'Donnell, who backed Richard... http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/vance-meets-gerson#comments Politics 2009 Manhattan District Attorney Election Cy Vance Danny O'Donnell Local Richard Aborn Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:10:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/vance-meets-gerson http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/snyder-defends-her-death-penalty-positions-questions-sincerity-her-opponents This clip is three minutes long, and shows what was by far the most spirited exchange from last night’s forum for the three Manhattan district-attorney candidates. Leslie Crocker Snyder was asked if she would support the death penalty if irrefutable evidence proved a person’s guilt of a heinous crime. It was a question posed by Richard Aborn, and designed, basically, to get Snyder to explain why she opposes the death penalty now, after initially supporting it.... http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/snyder-defends-her-death-penalty-positions-questions-sincerity-her-opponents#comments Politics 2009 Manhattan District Attorney Election Cy Vance Local Richard Aborn Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:40:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/snyder-defends-her-death-penalty-positions-questions-sincerity-her-opponents http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/selling-law-and-order-liberal Manhattan District Attorney candidate Richard Aborn, who has the backing of former police chief Bill Bratton, picked up the endorsement today of Assemblyman Danny O'Donnell, a leader in the LBGT community. “When it comes to which person will crack down on crime while protecting civil liberties and defending progressive values, there is no one more qualified for Manhattan D.A. than Richard Aborn,” O’Donnell said in a public statement released by the campaign. “Whether it’s taking... http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/selling-law-and-order-liberal#comments Politics 2009 Manhattan District Attorney Election Cy Vance Local Richard Aborn Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:48:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/selling-law-and-order-liberal http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/bill-bratton-endorses-aborn-manhattan-da Manhattan District Attorney candidate Richard Aborn was just endorsed by former New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, who, on a conference call with reporters this morning, noted that he and his wife were married by another candidate in the race, Leslie Crocker Snyder. Bratton, who has been married twice, did not offer more detail. Bratton, now the chief of police in Los Angeles, said he met and had a number of conversations with the third... http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/bill-bratton-endorses-aborn-manhattan-da#comments Politics 2009 Manhattan District Attorney Election Cy Vance Local Richard Aborn Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:09:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/bill-bratton-endorses-aborn-manhattan-da http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/former-morgenthau-spokeswoman-goes-vance-campaign Retiring Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau’s long-time spokeswoman, Barbara Thompson, is now working to help elect one of the people hoping to replace him. “I am working with Cy Vance,” Thompson confirmed in a brief telephone interview. Thompson said she “retired last summer” from Morgenthau’s office, and “just started up” with the Vance campaign as communications director. Just another sign that Morgenthau’s infrastructure is moving over to Vance’s... http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/former-morgenthau-spokeswoman-goes-vance-campaign#comments Politics 2009 Manhattan District Attorney Election Barbara Thompson Cy Vance Local Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:21:00 -0400 http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/former-morgenthau-spokeswoman-goes-vance-campaign http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/crocker-snyder-clarifies-death-penalty-position-says-morgys-office-didnt-understand-fi “You don’t mind if I sip a Coke, do you?” asked Leslie Crocker Snyder, sitting behind her desk on the 23rd-floor Broadway office on Friday afternoon, the day news broke that Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau was finally going to retire. She estimated about 60 phone calls had come in to her office since it was reported that the man she tried to unseat four years ago is not planning to seek re-election this year. With... http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/crocker-snyder-clarifies-death-penalty-position-says-morgys-office-didnt-understand-fi#comments Politics 2009 Manhattan District Attorney Election Charles Schumer Local Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:23:00 -0500 http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/crocker-snyder-clarifies-death-penalty-position-says-morgys-office-didnt-understand-fi