Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz declared victory in her primary race against two Democratic challengers Tuesday night.
Katz held a convincing lead over retired Judge George Grasso and public defender Devian Daniels, having secured nearly 71% of the vote with 96% precincts reporting as of 11 p.m. on June 27.
Grasso and Daniels each have approximately 14% of the vote,with Grasso ahead by only 187 votes as of 11 p.m.
Katz delivered her victory speech at the Queens Boulevard barbecue joint Queens Bully after she amassed an avalanche of endorsements from law enforcement unions and most major labor organizations in the city, nearly all of the borough’s Democratic elected officials, Mayor Eric Adams and, most recently, Gov. Kathy Hochul, who joined Katz during her victory party at Queens Bully.
“I thank the voters for instilling their trust in me once again and I look forward to the general election in November,” Katz said. “Let’s continue the work.”
Throughout her campaign, Katz hammered home the point that she provided a steady hand running the Queens DA’s office through turbulent times, having been sworn in just months ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.
“I’m so proud of the work my office has done through unprecedented challenges,” Katz said. “In the third month of my administration, the entire world shut down and my office didn’t skip a beat. We continued going after every gang member, every gun prosecution and everything that came through our office was taken care of no matter what the obstacles we were facing.”
She said she worked to keep Queens families safe by leading the effort to take illegal weapons and ghost guns off the streets and held human traffickers and domestic abusers accountable. At the same time, she has launched Queens’ first-ever Conviction Integrity Unit to ensure justice for those wrongfully convicted.
Grasso thought otherwise and retired from the bench in August with two years remaining in his term…
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