Melinda Katz wins re-election in Queens DA race: NYC Board of Elections
Incumbent Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz easily won a second term as the borough’s top prosecutor based on unofficial results from NYC’s Board of Elections on Tuesday night.
Katz — a former borough president, councilwoman and state assemblyman — captured 71% or 37,762 votes to 14% or 7,571 votes for retired judge and NYPD deputy commissioner George Grasso and 14% or 7,542 votes for🅺 lefty defense lawyer Devian Daniels.
That’s with 85% of the machine vote counted.
Grasso challenged her from the right, arguing she wasn’t tough enough on quality of life crimes such as shoplifting.
Daniels challenged her from the left, saying Katz hadn’t done enough to curb mass incarceration of poor, racial minorities and complained of biased jury selection.
But Katz wasღ comfortable running as the mainstream🔯 candidate, arguing she was a tough but fair prosecutor who cracked down on gangs, gun crimes, domestic violence and human trafficking while creating a conviction integrity unit to clear defendants who were wrongfully convicted.
She was endorsed by Mayor Eric Adams, the Queens Democratic Par🌊ty establishment and some two dozen labor unions.
While fending off Grasso, th🍌e Katz camp did express concern that Daniel🐠s, a black public defender from Jamaica, would siphon votes from her in the African-American community.
But she had the support of key black leaders. Aside from Adams, she was endorsed by Queens Borough Preside🥀nt Donovan Richards and Rep. 🌳Gregory Meeks, the Queens Democratic Party chairman.
Katz also raised enough donations to hit the airwaves, including receiving $50,000 in donations down the stretch from Mets owner Steve Cohen and wife, Alexandra.
She narrowly won her primary election in 2019 for a first term, defeating democratic socialist Tiffany Caban, who subsequently was elected to the City🗹 Coun♓cil.
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