Process of replacing Schneiderman to start
Legislative panel will begin interviewing candidates on Tuesday
An eight-member legislative screening committee is scheduled to begin interviewing 13 candidates vying for the job of attorney general on Tuesday.
Contenders were asked to submit resumes to the office of Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie by the end of last week. On Monday, a somewhat clearer picture emerged of the rare interview process, which is expected to last at least through Wednesday at the Capitol.
The initial list of 16 candidates looking to complete the unfinished term of former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been whittled down to 13 after three candidates — U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, David Yassky of Pace University School of Law and attorney Jose W. Fernandez — announced they would not seek the position through legislative appointment.
The remaining candidates, seven of whom are women, will be given the opportunity to publicly discuss their qualifications and answer questions from select members of the Legislature, according to Heastie’s office.
Applicants must also satisfy the minimum requirements set forth in the state constitution, including holding U.S. citizenship, being a resident of New York state for the past five years and being at least 30 years of age.
In addition, all applicants must demonstrate relevant experience and expertise in government and legal matters that are under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Law, which is more commonly referred to as the attorney general’s office.
After interviewing the candidates, the screening committee may recommend any number of candidates— between one and 13 — for a joint vote by the Legislature. The voting process is likely to be dominated by the Assembly Democratic conference, which holds nearly half of all the votes in the Legislature.
The Senate Republican conference initially indicated that its members would possibly sit out the vote. But on Monday afternoon Senate Majority Leader John J. Flanagan announced that several of its members would participate in the vetting process.
Barbara D. Underwood, who has served as solicitor general since she was appointed in 2007 by then-attorney General Andrew Cuomo, is seen as a strong front-runner in the appointment process. She has been the acting attorney general since the day after Schneiderman resigned amid allegations of physical abuse against women reported by The New Yorker on May 7.
Cuomo has voiced support for Underwood to complete Schneiderman’s term. Underwood also has the backing of Republicans in the Senate and Capital Region Assembly members John Mcdonald and Patricia Fahy.
Democratic Assembly members Thomas J. Abinanti and Daniel J. O’donnell are seeking the job, as are attorneys Thomas E. Humbach, Nicole Gueron, Jennifer P. Stergion, Alex Zapesochny and Michael D. Diederich.
Leecia Roberta Eve, vice president of state government affairs for Verizon and former chief economic adviser to Cuomo; and Lloyd Constantine, a former adviser to Gov. Eliot Spitzer who had also been an assistant attorney general, are also in the running.
The others on the list are Mina Quinto Malik, the former executive director of the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board; Doris Lingcohan, a Supreme Court justice who once worked in the attorney general’s fraud division; and Elizabeth Holtzman, a former congresswoman, Brooklyn district attorney and New York City comptroller.
The screening committee, which was created by the Assembly Democrats, will include Democratic Assembly members Jeffrey Dinowitz, Crystal Peoples-stokes and Matthew Titone; Republican Assembly members William Barclay and Brian Curran; and Democratic senators Martin Dilan and Brad Hoylman. It will be chaired by Democratic Assemblyman Joe Lentol.
A number of potential contenders announced that they are forgoing the legislative appointment process but indicated that they may seek the Democratic nod for attorney
general in November’s general election, including former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, Fordham Law professor Zephyr Teachout, and Maloney, the Hudson Valley congressman.
The interview process comes just before the state’s Democratic and Republican conventions, during which state party leaders will select their preferred candidates for November’s general election. The progressive Working Families Party has also announced that it will nominate a candidate for attorney general this year.
Lentol acknowledged that, given the upcoming convention, the selection process may be “less meaningful” than if there were a longer term to serve out, but he noted that the law mandates that the Legislature appoint an interim attorney general.
“It is still our obligation, even if it’s a very short period of time, to appoint someone,” Lentol said.