Bragg, Manhattan's top prosecutor will be in charge of some of the most important criminal cases in America, including the ongoing investigation into former President Donald Trump's finances and his organisation. The Trump Organization was charged by the incumbent DA with grand larceny as well as other crimes related to tax fraud. Bragg will be the nation's most prominent prosecutor of white collar crime. He will have jurisdiction over Wall Street and will oversee investigations into multi-national investment schemes, money laundering and workplace violations.Tali Farhadian Weinstein has lost the Democratic primary to Alvin Bragg, former New York State Chief Deputy Attorney General. Bragg is now the Democratic nominee and will be serving a four year term that begins in 2022.Weinstein's defeat is a victory for progressives and some advocates of government reform. They argued that Wall Street's close ties to multimillionaires created a conflict of interests. All 27 donors who contributed more than $35,000 to Weinstein's campaign were Wall Street and business leaders. Weinstein, who was a prosecutor in Barack Obama's Department of Justice, and is married to Boaz Weinstein of Saba Capital Management made $8.2 million of her money in the last weeks of the race. Some of this money went towards ads attacking Bragg.Weinstein, a moderate candidate in the primary, raised almost $13 million. This is more than Bragg raised and more than all seven candidates combined. Her strong war chest enabled her to launch a digital advertising campaign and mailers which helped increase her name recognition. Two polls, conducted just two months prior to the election, showed Weinstein leading Bragg with twice the votes. She led Bragg 16 percent to 6 per cent in a Benson Strategy Group poll and 11 percent to 5 per cent in an internal poll that was paid for by Tahanie Aboshi's campaign. New York's district attorney races don't have ranked-choice voting, unlike New York City's municipal elections.As the June 22 election approached, the gap in this race narrowed. Bragg, who ran on a platform that was left of Weinsteins' gained momentum after a New York Times endorsement. Two weeks prior to the race, a Data for Progress poll showed Bragg tied with Weinstein. A week later, he was ahead in a poll.Bragg was the prosecutor in the cases against Harvey Weinstein as well as the Trump administration's state attorney generals office. He emphasized criminal justice reform over prosecutions during his campaign. Bragg has pledged to not prosecute low-level offenses like sex work, to offer restorative justice programming in cases involving serious crimes, and to never seek sentences exceeding 20 years even though he acknowledged that he might be able to find exceptional circumstances.Weinstein, on the other hand, succumbed to a narrative that right-wing pundits, law enforcement officers, and others had crafted for the election. It was a referendum about public safety. Despite a decrease in violent crime rates over the past year due to factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic or increased gun access, this has led to an increase in violence in major cities across America. This makes crime a key issue in both the DAs race and in municipal elections. This framing overlooks the fact that violent crime in New York City has fallen to its lowest point in decades before 2020. It is comparable to the number of murders that occurred in New York City between 400-500 last year, which was similar to 2012 when it was reported that the murder rate had dropped.Weinstein, who called herself a progressive prosecutor and supported some criminal justice reforms but her platform was less radical than her peers. Weinstein pledged to revive the offices wrongful conviction unit, demand only minimum sentences as a default rule and significantly reduce the number of convictions for nonviolent offences. Contrary to the race left-most candidates she didn't promise to stop prosecuting nonviolent misdemeanors or seek sentences under 20 years. She also did not say that she would decriminalize sex work and change the focus of her DAs office. Weinstein stated that she supports the state's 2019 bail reform laws, which eliminated cash bail. However, her progressive opponents applauded them for removing cash bail. She also believes judges should be allowed the discretion to consider whether a suspect poses a threat to the public safety before setting bail. This is a practice that is currently prohibited by the bail reform legislation.During the last weeks of the race, Braggs and Weinsteins divergent views on criminal justice and public safety became a problem. Weinstein tried to portray Braggs opposition to incarceration in several ads as a threat for women and public safety. One TV ad features a woman criticizing Braggs opposition for a law that would have required police to arrest domestic abuse felony victims. Bragg, who was Black, said that the ads were part of a worst tradition of politics that has racial overtones.Weinstein's campaign tactics continue to put Weinstein on the defensive. ProPublica reported that several other candidates criticised Weinstein's campaign tactics during a June 17 debate. They criticized her for her advertisements as well as for not paying federal income taxes for four years. Weinstein and her husband claimed that their tax filings were legal, despite their significant losses at Saba Capital Management.Bragg's victory is a significant win for progressives. They saw the rare opportunity for the Manhattan district attorney, a position that only three people have held in the past 79 years, as an opportunity to implement progressive reform. Bragg, a Harlem native, is poised to be the borough's first Black district attorney. He says that his top priority will be reducing mass incarceration.Bragg stated in a statement that we are now one step closer to changing the District Attorneys office so that justice and safety for all can be delivered. One that eliminates racial disparities, mass incarceration. One that provides justice for survivors of sexual assault. One that holds the police responsible. One that holds police accountable for landlords who harass tenants and employers who cheat their workers. One that prevents guns from getting on our streets.
