Politics

3-way race for county district attorney job

With former Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore now a state judge, and her replacement choosing not to seek election this November, three candidates have entered the race to take over the spot as the county’s top prosecutor.

The latest entry is Bruce Bendish, a White Plains Republican, who announced his candidacy for Westchester DA on Feb. 18 at a press conference at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in White Plains.

Bendish, 69, served as an assistant district attorney in Westchester County for 14 years before he opened a private practice for criminal defense with fellow attorney Peter Goodrich.

2016-vote-square“I am not a career politician,” Bendish said when announcing his candidacy. “I’ve never run for office, and have no desire to hold any other position than the office of district attorney.”

Bendish will receive a primary challenge from Mitch Benson, a New Rochelle Republican, who launched his campaign website and announced his candidacy a day earlier, on Feb. 17.

Before entering the race, Benson, 56, was a top prosecutor in Nassau County for 10 years, and served as a prosecutor in Brooklyn for 20 years prior to that.

“I have been involved in hiring and training hundreds of ADAs, and I have been a frontline prosecutor,” Benson said.

Also, on the Democratic side, George Fufidio, of Eastchester, announced his candidacy last month. Fufidio, 58, has been a criminal defense lawyer since 1988, but served as a prosecutor in the Westchester County DA’s office prior to that. He described his time as a Westchester prosecutor as the best experience he’s had, and said he has a deep-rooted respect for the DA’s office.

All three candidates cited the heroin epidemic throughout the county as a priority, but each attorney elaborated on different methods for tackling the issue.

Bendish put an emphasis on youth outreach, and said he would specifically like to send ADAs to middle and high schools throughout Westchester more often to discuss the serious nature of the issue and warn teenagers about the dangers of drug abuse.

“Part of it is an educational factor, because the district attorney is not confined to the four walls of a courtroom,” Bendish said.

Fufidio discussed the importance of rehabilitation in tackling the drug issue, and promoted the use of treatment courts during sentencing. “Too many people are in the system for addiction and mental illness,” Fufidio said. “More people need to be eligible for treatment courts. My experience with treatment courts is that they are effective.”

When asked about treatment courts, Benson said it is important to “strike a balance.” He said there are treatment programs that are appropriate in some cases, but that “the focus is on creative techniques to pursue major distributors.”

Benson also identified the heroin epidemic as a problem throughout all of New York, and said that statewide initiatives must be taken as well to tackle the issue.

In addition to addressing problems such as heroin, illegal hand guns and cybercrimes, Bendish also said that he wants to establish a veteran’s treatment court in Westchester.

“They deserve a court that understands their problems, and a court that is connected to other veterans’ administrations services,” he said.

Benson cited gang violence as another major issue in Westchester that he would address as DA. He said that prosecuting gang violence can become difficult when witnesses are coerced into silence.

“We need to facilitate a culture in which witnesses are encouraged to come forward,” Benson said. “You have to be aggressive and committed in tough prosecution against violent criminals, that way people don’t see dangerous felons back on the street.”

Fufidio, who is currently a member of the New York State Permanent Commission on Sentencing, said he is passionate about increasing the age that a person can be tried as an adult from 16 to 18 years old. He said that minors are all too often treated as criminals before the court considers treatment or additional supervision for youthful offenders.

All three candidates had positive things to say about DiFiore, and expressed desires to continue building on her legacy.

DiFiore, a Democrat, became the chief judge of the state Court of Appeals last month. In her place is acting District Attorney James McCarty, who has no plans to run election in November.

Primary elections for Westchester take place on Sept. 13, and the general election is Nov. 8.

The Westchester DA is elected to serve a four-year term.