Race for DA
Rensselaer County incumbent reassures voters as challenger Mary Pat Donnelly raises concerns
Abelove faces legal pressures even as he runs for re-election.
The incumbent’s record is always the target in a hotly contested campaign, but Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel E. Abelove finds himself in an even more heated contest with challenger Mary Pat Donnelly as he continues to face legal pressures in his own case.
Abelove faced criminal charges filed by the state Attorney General’s Office on his handling of a 2016 fatal police shooting of an unarmed DWI suspect in Troy. The charges were dismissed in June by acting state Supreme Court Justice Jonathan D. Nichols of Columbia County. But the attorney general is appealing that ruling and there’s been an exchange of legal papers in the last few weeks.
In the hard-scrabble battleground of door-todoor county politics, that means Donnelly, the Democratic candidate, and Abelove, the Republican incumbent, face questions about the case whenever they knock on a door seeking voters’ support.
“My handling of the matter was within my lawful authority as district attorney,” Abelove, 49, of Rensselaer, said.
Abelove said he tells voters first all investigations, including the attorney general’s, concluded there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the officer.
“Second, I make sure they are aware that Judge Nichols dismissed all charges against me. Third, I assure them that as I have said all along, I did nothing wrong and was never accused by the attorney general of violating the governor’s executive order,” Abelove said.
Donnelly, 45, a former East Greenbush town justice who works in the Albany city courts as an attorney, said she finds that Abelove’s legal issues are part of a broad spectrum of voters’ concerns regarding the district attorney’s office.
“I have been campaigning door to door since June and I can tell you that voters want a change,” Donnelly said, saying they are unhappy with the repeated dismissals of important cases.
“They are concerned about the fact that the indictment against the current DA may be reinstated. I have resigned my judgeship and entered the race because I share these same concerns.
I will bring competence, ethics and integrity to the district attorney’s office,” Donnelly said.
The first round of elections came in the Sept. 13 primaries when Donnelly swept four elections, winning the Independence, Working Families, Green and Women’s Equality Party contests. The most important victory was the Independence Party, whose line is considered key to winning the Nov. 6 election. Abelove, who has the Conservative and Reform lines, had the Independence line when he won in 2014 and didn’t have it when he lost in 2011.
The district attorney’s office daily operation is a major concern in the race. It’s one that Abelove raised during his 2014 campaign. Donnelly now has hammered on it in this campaign.
The high turnover of assistant district attorneys and speedy trial violations in which cases aren’t prosecuted on a timely basis as required by the law are issues.
“It is no secret that the Rensselaer County District Attorney’s Office is in shambles. As district attorney, my first priority will be to create an environment in which attorneys want to work,” Donnelly said. “I do not believe the office needs massive restructuring as much as it simply needs leadership.”
Abelove emphasized that he has saved money by improving office operations and improved his assistants’ salaries, which need to continue, and which is an issue for the Capital Region’s district attorney offices. He also said he has improved case monitoring and developed an alert system to prevent speedy trial dismissals, but that case backlogs are a function of court operations. “Regarding leadership, my philosophy is to lead from the front. I have personally prosecuted a number of complex, high-profile cases. I meet with attorneys regularly to discuss cases and offer assistance,” Abelove said.
Abelove’s win in 2014 also was played out against many rural county voters’ opposition to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s SAFE Act, setting new rules for gun ownership.
“I have opposed the SAFE Act from its inception and can state as district attorney that I have not seen any positive effect on crime reduction as a result of this law,” said Abelove, who is endorsed by the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association.
The daughter and wife of police officers, Donnelly said, “I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment not only because of my personal background, but because of my appreciation for the right to defend ourselves as a cornerstone of our freedom.”
Abelove notes he is a career prosecutor in a 23-year legal career across the district attorney’s office; the National Guard, from which he retired this year as a lieutenant colonel; and state Health Department. “Trial experience is critical, in my opinion, to being district attorney. It is especially important to have prosecutorial trial experience,” the incumbent said.
Donnelly’s 21-year legal career has been in criminal courts serving as a prosecutor in Vermont, town justice and court attorney. “For the district attorney, trial experience is not nearly as important as good judgment, high ethical standards and a sound commitment to doing the right thing in every case,” Donnelly said.
The high turnover of assistant district attorneys and speedy trial violations in which cases aren’t prosecuted on a timely basis as required by the law are issues.