Petitioning Begins Tomorrow for DA Primary

By David Brand

”Are you a Queens resident? Are you a Democrat? Can you sign this?”

Get ready to hear that a lot starting Tuesday as candidates for Queens district attorney officially begin petitioning to appear on the June primary election ballot.

Candidates are required to collect 4,000 signatures to submit to the Board of Elections so, with at least seven candidates vying for the Democratic nomination, expect to be approached by a canvasser with a clipboard some time soon.

Each valid signature must come from an individual registered to vote in Queens. The person signing the petition also has to be registered in the party of the candidate for whom they are signing.

The seven Democratic DA candidates (so far) include (in alphabetical order) public defender Tiffany Cabán, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, Councilmember Rory Lancman, Former Queens Supreme Court Justice Gregory Lasak, private attorney and former Nassau County prosecutor Betty Lugo, former Queens prosecutor and Civilian Complaint Review Board chair Mina Malik and State Attorney General’s Office prosecutor Jose Nieves.

District Attorney Richard A. Brown has held the office since 1991. He announced he would not seek re-election last month.