Pol responds to Cy fury with bill curbing lawyer donations

ALBANY — As Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr.’s campaign contributions have come under scrutiny, an assemblyman said he’s introducing a bill to reign in how much New York prosecutors can accept in donations from defense attorneys.

The bill by Assemblyman Dan Quart (D-Manhattan, photo inset) would create a statewide database of lawyers and law firms who have criminal defense practices. Those on the list would be barred from giving more than $320 an election cycle to district attorney candidates.

It also would prohibit lawyers and firms from bundling donations on behalf of district attorney candidates.

Quart said the legislation is based on the New York City Campaign Finance Board’s model for boroughwide offices. The $320 limit is the same that borough presidents abide by for fundraising from individuals and entities in the “NYC Doing Business” database.

Under current state rules, the maximum donation a district attorney candidate can receive is based on a formula tied to the number of registered voters in the district. The maximum donation in some districts is $50,000.

Capping donations from criminal defense lawyers and firms “will give greater trust to people of the State of New York that their district attorneys are making decisions that are on the level,” Quart said.

Vance has been criticized for taking contributions from defense lawyers whose clients — including President Trump’s kids and disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein — were targets of criminal probes that did not yield prosecutions.

The Manhattan prosecutor, who has called for campaign finance reform in the past, including reducing donation limits, has denied he is influenced by contributions. He said last week he is considering self-imposed limits on donations he accepts.

“A variety of proposals are already under consideration by the district attorney, including limits on contributions from lawyers who have matters before the office, even though such contributions are permitted by law,” said Vance spokeswoman Joan Vollero.

Vance is also “open to examining other ideas, including the possibility of legislation in the future, and new protocols will be announced in the coming weeks,” Vollero said. Quart, who did not rule out a future run for Manhattan district attorney, said he was already working on his bill before the controversy over the donations to Vance surfaced. But he said that “the examples of the pay-to-play culture in the Manhattan district attorney’s office is a greater impetus for this legislation.” “It will avoid not only conflicts, but even the appearance of conflicts so people aren’t questioning whether Cy Vance chose not to prosecute Harvey Weinstein because of the facts, as he stated, or campaign donations, as others have stated,” he said. The assemblyman might have support from former crusading Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who tweeted last week that “it’s time that candidates for local district attorney just say no to campaign donations from criminal defense lawyers. Period.”

As she seeks to become the first woman to lead the state Senate, Democratic Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins has begun traveling the state in hopes of energizing females and minorities to get involved in the political process heading into 2018.

Stewart-Cousins, the state Senate minority leader, on Saturday was the keynote speaker at the first training session of Emerge NY, a new state affiliate for a national organization focused on training Democratic women to run for office.

With the election of President Trump, Stewart-Cousins said it’s important that women not remain on the sidelines and, instead, seek to make change by running for office.

“Simply saying you support women’s rights is not enough; action is needed,” she said.