A veteran prosecutor who used to work in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is seeking to topple current DA Alvin Bragg.
Diana Florence said she will run on an independent “Safer Manhattan” ballot line against Democrat incumbent Bragg — a longshot bid in the heavily Democratic borough.
She ripped Bragg over his infamous “Day One memo” in January 2022 that ordered his prosecutors to stop seeking prison sentences for hordes of criminals and to downgrade felony charges in cases including armed robberies and drug dealing.
“The law is a command, not a suggestion,” said Florence, an ADA under former District Attorney Cy Vance. “It’s time to bring common sense back to the District Attorney’s office and leave the politics behind.”
But Florence has her own baggage.
She resigned from the Manhattan DA’s office in 2020 amid allegations she withheld evidence involving a key witness in several major cases.
Maud Maron, a former public defender, is the Republican candidate for Manhattan DA.
Bragg also is facing a Democratic primary challenge from former Bronx prosecutor and civil litigator Patrick Timmins.
Florence previously ran in the crowded Democratic primary for Manhattan DA in 2021, a race won by Bragg.
This time around, she is focusing on his “Day One” memo.
Some of those policies were reversed after a thundering backlash.
“Manhattan deserves a DA who will take decisive action to restore order and fairness,” she said in a statement. “My promise is to bring justice to every community — without fear or favor — and make New Yorkers safe at home, safe at work, and safe on the streets.”
But Florence also was accused of failing to turn over a potentially damning audio recording in her prosecution of shady construction executives accused of illegally securing millions of dollars in city contracts.
A campaign spokesman for Bragg said Florence is unfit to be DA.
“Alvin Bragg is an honest, principled, experienced prosecutor who has helped reduce shootings in Manhattan by 45%, launched new mental health outreach to get people help, stood up for victims, and held the powerful accountable,” said Bragg campaign rep Richard Fife.
“Diana Florence resigned in disgrace from the Manhattan DA’s office for failing to turn over evidence in a major corruption case, and for creating a toxic work environment internally. No amount of special interest money from Florence’s rich, powerful patrons or campaign rhetoric will be able to hide her scandal-scarred history, or distort Alvin Bragg’s successful record of delivering the safety we need, the fairness we deserve, and one standard of justice for all.”
Despite the controversy, Florence received a qualified rating from the New York Bar Association during the 2021 race.
Aside from saying she would have zero tolerance for violent crime if elected DA, Florence vowed she would vigorously prosecute quality-of-life crimes such as shoplifting, vandalism and trespassing.
“I’m going to fight for a Manhattan where stores aren’t locking up toothpaste and our public spaces aren’t crime scenes waiting to happen. This will be reflected in my ‘Day One Memo,’ ” Florence said.
She also promised to aggressively prosecute domestic violence and sex crimes.
“DA Bragg’s failure started from the very beginning, with his ‘Day One Memo,’ ” she said. “Instead of considering each case individually, he directed prosecutors to automatically downgrade how crimes were charged, turning felonies into misdemeanors, and misdemeanors into no crimes at all.
“The DA’s office pursued a social experiment that made our city more hospitable for criminals, and less safe for everyone else. Today, it is not unusual for someone to be arrested for a serious crime, only to be released because the DA refused to prosecute. And no surprise – crime has gotten worse,” Florence said.
She vowed to tackle antisemitism, anti-Asian and other hate-related crimes, too.
Florence spent 25 years as a prosecutor focusing on street crime, domestic violence, fraud and corruption cases and headed the nation’s first construction fraud task force.
She won convictions against companies and individuals for defrauding 9/11 charities, corruption, domestic violence, wage theft and deadly work conditions.
Born in Manhattan, Florence resides in Kips Bay with her husband and two children.
