FROM TV RACE TO RUN FOR DA
'Survivor' lose-a-lot vies for law gig
She’s been voted off two islands, but she’s trying her luck on a third.
Eliza Orlins, a two-time participant on the CBS reality show “Survivor,” has thrown her name into a crowded race for Manhattan district attorney and says she’s aiming to shake up the office ruled for a decade by Cyrus Vance Jr.
Orlins, 38, participated in Season 9 of “Survivor: Vanuatu” in 2004 when she was a student at Syracuse University, and came back for Season 16 in Micronesia in 2008.
“‘Survivor’ was a learning experience. It definitely pushed my limits and my boundaries and was really challenging,” she said of the often harrowing moments she endured.
On Vanuatu in the South Pacific, the less-than-lucky Orlins lived mostly on a diet of coconuts and the root vegetable manioc. One night, she almost ate from a coconut filled with maggots. “It looked like Parmesan cheese,” she said.
Her extended “Survivor” family has come out to support her, with many recording endorsements and fundraising appeals, which Orlins has shared to social media.
After graduating from Fordham Law, Orlins started her career with the Legal Aid Society, where she has worked as staff attorney for the past decade.
“I think that the top priority has to be really an overhaul of thinking about the way to bring about systemic change to our criminal legal system,” Orlins said, adding that she was looking to “shrink the footprint” of the office by declining to prosecute “low-level offenses” and “victimless crimes.”
“I think that bail reform was a good start, but we really need to reform the pretrial system,” she said. “There are so many less restrictive ways to make sure somebody returns to court.”
The stance may raise eyebrows among New Yorkers concerned about the city’s sharp uptick in crime in recent months. Orlins, a self-described “Elizabeth Warren Democrat,” said she was not a fan of the current DA and looked forward to undoing much of his legacy.
“Cy Vance has given breaks to the wealthy and well-connected and powerful and has shielded them from consequences and accountability,” she said, while also accusing him of “perpetuat[ing] mass incarceration.”
Orlins is facing a competitive field in a race which observers say is “wide open.” Also vying for the job are Tali Weinstein, a wellfunded law professor; and Alvin Bragg, a former chief deputy attorney general in New York. The Democratic primary is June 22.