Brown Undecided on 2019 Election

Hours after Council Member Rory Lancman announced his candidacy for Queens district attorney, a spokesperson for current Queens DA Richard Brown said Brown has not yet decided whether he will seek reelection.

Brown has served as Queens DA since 1991. Responding to an inquiry from the Eagle, spokesperson for the DA’s office cited a statement Brown made in August.

current Queens DA Richard Brown. //Photo courtesy of Da Brown.

“My present term does not expire until December 2019 and I will make no decision about the future until sometime next year,” Brown said in August.

On Wednesday morning, Lancman announced his candidacy in a video message. He spoke with the Eagle Tuesday in preparation for the announcement and said that, as DA, he would not prosecute several offenses, including marijuana possession, nighttime trespassing in parks and school fights.

Lancman also said he would work to eliminate cash bail and would implement full open-discovery.

“It’s scandalous how the criminal justice system deals with discovery,” Lancman said.