Manhattan District Attorney Race: Liz Crotty Profile

NEW YORK, NY — Voters in Manhattan will see eight names on the Democratic ballot and one on the Republican when they vote in the June 22 primary election for Manhattan District Attorney.

One of those names will be Liz Crotty, who previously worked as an assistant attorney in Manhattan. She is running to succeed Cyrus Vance Jr., who said in mid-March that she will not seek reelection.

The Manhattan District Attorney's race is not ranked-choice voting.

Patch reached out to all candidates in the election to create these profiles. Crotty's responses are below.

Liz Crotty

Age (as of Election Day)

50

Position Sought

Manhattan District Attorney

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Neighborhood of residence

Greenwich Village

Family

Mother, father, two siblings

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

My father, Paul Crotty, is a federal judge

Education

Hobart William Smith College, BA
Fordham Law School

Occupation

Attorney -- 6 years as an Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan DA's office, 12 years in private practice as a defense attorney

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Member, NYC Bar Association Judiciary Committee; NYC Bar International Human Rights Committee

Campaign website

lizcrotty2021.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

I was raised in a family committed to public service, which led me to go to work for the Manhattan DA's office, where I spent four years in the trial division and two years in the investigative division working on complex, multinational financial probes. I have the most experience on both sides of the courtroom, and understand each case must be considered based on the facts and the law, and not any political considerations best considered by lawmakers. This is a critical time for NYC, and public safety is essential to restoring the economy of the city from the pandemic.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

We have to re-establish a balanced approach to public safety, and I have the skills, the experience and the commitment to get that done. We have to reform the bail reform laws to make more crimes bail-eligible, including all hate crimes and and for defendants arrested multiple times for comparable offenses who should go before a judge where interventions for substance abuse, mental illness and other issues could be made conditions of release. It is a fact that many of the communities my opponents claim to be championing are the same communities suffering the surge of shootings and street crime and they do not want to defund the police, but get better, more effective and more equitable policing. .

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I understand, in a way so many other candidates do not, that public safety is a partnership, including police, prosecutors, the defense bar and communities. The institutional knowledge I gained from my six years in the office, and my 12 years interacting with the office as a defense attorney, are essential in bringing the judgment necessary for running an office of 500 plus attorneys. I am proud to have been endorsed by unions representing Fire Department first responders and police officers and ranking officers who understand that I understand their role in the partnership for public safety. We are all in this together.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

Underwhelmingly.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

I want to raise the status of the domestic violence and sex crimes unit to full bureau status to focus more energy and resources. I want to reinvigorate the financial crimes investigative division to tackle crime in the suites, as well as the streets of Manhattan. I want to work with legislators to rationalize policy concerning bail and encourage greater assistance for offenders leaving the criminal justice system and reentering society. I want to assign individual ADAs to particular neighborhoods to encourage closer cooperation with communities.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I have the most experience in doing the jobs that fall under the Manhattan District Attorney, including trying criminal cases as an ADA and working on the investigation into the UN's Oil for Food program being subverted by Sadaam Hussein. I have worked closely as a defense attorney to ensure humane treatment for my clients, getting them the help they need while ensuring they received a fair consideration of all of their rights in dealings with the DAs office. No one in this race can match my experience on all sides of the courtroom, and I want to bring that experience to bear as Manhattan's top law enforcement official.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Do the right thing.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I have a dog named Samantha. She agrees with me on most of my positions.