Democrats challenging Manhattan District Attorney challenged Alvin Bragg in the primary in June this year. He vowed to harsh subway crimes, including targeting fare beaters, as he condemned the incumbent's “poor” charges record.
Civic litigator and former Bronx prosecutor Patrick Timmins said he aims to ease “tensions” at the Strafangers after a string of violent incidents in the city's transportation system.
“No one is getting a safe, comfortable, and easy ride,” he argued in a recent interview. “We all know about platform pushes, subway slashes. It's on a historic level.”
Timmins, a resident of Uptown Manhattan, said cracking down on fare assaults would prevent major underground crimes.
“I understand 'what is fare avoidance here and there,' but if there are 20 people alone, maybe I should do something,” he said.
“Most of those who have attempted murder or felony attacks either under the ground or descended to the height of the train are generally not people who swipe.”
When Bragg, a former federal prosecutor, first took office, he immediately instructed staff not to indict fare evasion as part of a first day memo in the face of backlash.
Timmins criticized Bragg for the two charges he dropped after a fierce backlash that the accused were defending himself.
He also questioned the failed prosecution of Marine Corps veteran Daniel Penny in the Jordan Neely subway death, calling it “probably.”
“Over the last three years, there have been a lot of poor decisions by Alvin Bragg,” Timmins added, “I'm a common sense Democrat.”
However, Timmins also vowed to actively erase records of those who spent their time focusing primarily on drug and non-violent crimes if elected.
“If you pay the debt to society, it really should be forgotten,” he said.
First-time candidate has done a lot of work before him to knock off the progressive office holder.
Bragg has a tougher fundraising advantage over Timmins and has more name recognition in the primary just a few months away.
And Bragg's campaign pointed to Broadway Democrats, a political club that counts Timmins as members.
“Patrick Timmins' own neighborhood Democrat club effectively unanimously supported Alvin Bragg, and here's why. For over 20 years, prosecutors have launched a multifaceted approach that helped reduce shootings in Manhattan by 45%, invested in mental health outreach and sacrificed for the victims.
“We know that safety concerns are realistic and there is a lot of work ahead of us, but it's inspired by the support that Alvin receives from three Manhattan lawmakers, 25 Neighborhood Democrat Clubs and people in the borough.”
The Timmins campaign countered that Timmins has not been active in the organization recently.
Maud Maron, a former Democrat-turned amendment officer and former criminal defense attorney, is seeking a GOP appointment from the District Attorney's Office.
