Longtime Westchester Judge Joins Race for District Attorney
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Longtime former Westchester County Court Judge Susan Cacace officially announced her candidacy for district attorney Wednesday afternoon, adding her name to an increasingly crowded Democratic field to succeed current office holder Mimi Rocah.
Introduced outside the county courthouse in White Plains to at least 200 cheering supporters, Cacace said she would seek justice with compassion and to protect the most vulnerable members of society, including those who have suffered domestic violence, child abuse and elder abuse. She would also fight to prosecute the most serious crimes and to hold elected officials accountable.
Cacace has lived in Westchester her entire life, and saw ensuring public safety as a key objective.
“If elected, I pledge to make securing a place of safety throughout these Westchester neighborhoods my main priority,” said Cacace, a lifelong county resident who also spend about 15 years as an assistant district attorney and a stint as a criminal defense attorney. “I’ll see to it that our office continues its history of thorough and professional investigations and prosecutions, always seeking a delicate balance of compassion and justice for all involved.”
Cacace resigned from the bench on Dec. 7 in anticipation of her candidacy after serving nearly 20 years. She is the fifth Democrat to announce she is running for district attorney following Rocah’s somewhat surprising announcement in late October that she would not seek re-election after just one term in office.
Other Democrats who have entered the race are civil rights attorney William Wagstaff III, Adeel Mirza, a longtime assistant district attorney, who has served as both a prosecutor and David Szuchman, a former Manhattan assistant district attorney who for the last seven years has overseen PayPal’s global financial crimes and consumer protection department.
Cacace said she had thought about running for district attorney previously but hadn’t seen an opening for her until Rocah’s decision to leave after one term presented her with an opportunity. She is hopeful that her experience will propel her to be endorsed by the Westchester County Democratic Committee when it holds its convention in February.
“I have the most experience, so I think I am going to come out of that with the endorsement, and maybe they’ll decide they don’t want a primary,” Cacace said.
Currently, no Republicans has yet to announce their candidacy for district attorney.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
