Former Queens Prosecutor Mina Malik Officially Enters DA Race

Mina Malik, former director of the Civilian Complaint Review Board and a former Queens prosecutor, officially announced her candidacy for Queens District Attorney on Tuesday. Photo courtesy of Mina Malik.

By David Brand

Mina Malik, the former director of the Civilian Complaint Review Board, officially announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Queens District Attorney on Tuesday.

Malik most recently served as deputy attorney general at the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. She has also served as an assistant district attorney in Queens and Brooklyn.

She said she is running for DA because the “status quo isn’t working for the people of Queens.”

"Queens is the most diverse county in the country, but for too long our justice system has been an instrument of outdated policies that have caused immense harm for communities of color and the poor. That simply cannot continue,” Malik said in a statement. “I never thought I would be running for elected office, but I know it is time for bold reform in the Queens District Attorney’s office and I heeded the call to serve my community.”

Malik worked as a prosecutor under Queens DA Richard A. Brown for 15 years, including a stint in the Sex Crimes Bureau. In 2014, she became special counsel to the late Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson and helped developed the Brooklyn DA’s Conviction Review Unit.

"The next District Attorney must be a leader in the fight for racial, social and economic justice – a fight against inhumane mass incarceration, against the cradle-to-prison pipeline, and against the criminalization of poverty,” Malik said. “I have dedicated my career to that fight, and as Queens District Attorney I will end cash bail, hold police accountable when they break the law, and establish a conviction review unit like the one I helped design with former Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson.”

"Instead of spending our resources cycling kids into jail cells, we will redouble our focus on the serious crimes I have prosecuted throughout my career, and bring to justice those who prey on women, children and the elderly,” she continued.

Malik, who is of Hispanic and South Asian descent, is one of three women of color to declare her candidacy for Queens district attorney, along with public defender Tiffany Cabán and attorney Betty Lugo, the co-founder of New York City’s first Latina-owned law firm.

Borough President Melinda Katz, Councilmember Rory Lancman, former Judge Gregory Lasak and State Attorney General’s Office prosecutor Jose Nieves have also each declared their candidacies and started fundraising ahead of the June primary.