Originally Published: September 18, 2015
Johnson empowers the Bronx democratic party to anoint next DA and ignore voters
Statement by Dick Dadey, Executive Director of Citizens Union
With his announcement today that he is seeking nomination to Justice of the New York State Supreme Court in the Bronx, District Attorney Robert Johnson is flouting our democracy and undermining the laws of the state he was elected to uphold.
At this late stage, and one week after the party primary election, it is a bald-faced move to shamefully empower the leadership of the Bronx County Democratic Party to choose the next District Attorney. The consequence is that Democratic voters will have no meaningful role in choosing the party’s nominee and who will serve as the next District Attorney. Though there will be an election this fall, the voters will have no choice since the outcome will be predetermined by the Bronx Democratic Party.
As a result of this collusion between Johnson and the Democratic Party, the independence of the next District Attorney will be severely curtailed. It is a sad indictment of our political system that the next Bronx DA will be selected as a result of a party coronation and not an election.