- David Soares
-
David Soares 
District Attorney of Albany County Incumbent Assumed office
2004Preceded by Paul Clyne Personal details Born October 26, 1969
Brava, Cape VerdePolitical party Democratic Spouse(s) Tina Pantuso Children two Occupation Attorney P. David Soares (born October 26, 1969, Brava, Cape Verde) is the current Albany County District Attorney. He is a Democrat.
Contents
Personal life
Soares was the youngest of the six children of Lucas and Lidia Soares.[1] When he was six years old his family moved to Pawtucket, Rhode Island.[1] He received a Bachelor's Degree in communications from Cornell University.[1] He graduated from Albany Law School in 1999.[1] He married Tina Pantuso and they have two children.[1]
Law career
Soares worked his way through Albany Law School as an intern for the Albany International Airport Authority, and later for the Albany County, New York District Attorney's office.[1] He also worked with the Albany Law School AIDS law clinic for prisoners' legal services.[1] Upon graduation, he was hired as an assistant district attorney by then-DA Sol Greenberg.[1]
Political career
2004 election
On November 2, 2004, Soares was elected DA.[1][2] He defeated incumbent District Attorney Paul Clyne in a primary and in the general election he defeated Clyne (Independence Party) and Roger J. Cusick (Republican).[2]
September 2004 Democratic Primary election for district attorney[3]- David Soares, 14,909 votes, or 60.5%
- Paul Clyne, 9,741 votes, or 39.5%
November 2004 election for district attorney[4]
- David Soares (D), 75,610 votes, or 54.6%
- Roger J. Cusick (R), 57,202 votes, 41.3%
- Paul Clyne (I), 5,677 votes, or 4.1%
Prior to the Democratic primary election for DA of Albany County, New York, Paul Clyne had been considered a "shoo-in" incumbent by the local political establishment. This prediction, however, failed to materialize when Soares won by a landslide. As a result, one particular important New York political pundit, WNYC radio host Brian Lehrer, called Soares' victory one of the "most stunning political upsets" in New York history.[citation needed] The New York Times noted the unusual nature of that unset the day that almost all incumbents won easy re-election.[2]
Political career plans
There was speculation in early 2007 in the local and national media that Soares may run for re-election as DA, or for higher office, in 2008.
Soares was featured in Vibe Magazine, in which interview he discussed his goals and hopes for his career. [5] On October 26, 2007, Soares was mentioned in the largest local daily newspaper as a possible replacement for Congressman Mike McNulty in the 2008 race for Congress in the 21st congressional district of New York.[6] However, he has opted to run for re-election instead.[7]
Former DA Clyne, who lost to current DA Soares by a landslide in the 2004 Democratic primaries, initially contemplated opposing his successor for re-election; but eventually he decided not to run. For a moment it looked as though Soares might run unopposed since no candidate from either major parties, Democratic or Republican, had filed to run for the office of District Attorney of Albany County before the deadline to file expired. However, since there was still time left for independent candidates to file, Roger Cusick, a Republican, who had opposed DA Soares in 2004 and lost, declared himself as an independent candidate on August 18, one day before the deadline to file as an independent candidate would have expired. Cusick was able to get enough signatures to put himself in the ballot list. He once again opposed DA Soares in the November election.
Political criticism
Soares has faced some criticism. His drug policy reform position has been disputed by at least one defense lawyer, while some members of Albany police and others consider Soares as "soft" on drug crimes.[7] He has been criticized for his prosecution of defendants from Florida for selling steroids to residents of Albany County.[7]
Some feel the criticism is politically motivated, and his supporters and independent pundits applaud Soares's progressive approach to criminal prosecution in Albany County.[7] In an editorial, the Times Union noted, "Mr. Soares has rightly concluded that it would serve no purpose to seek a perjury indictment of Mr. Spitzer because the former governor did not speak with the district attorney's office under oath." [8] He claims to be "unfazed by critics."[7] In any case, he was re-elected by the voters by a landslide in the 2008 election.
2008 re-election
In November 2008, Soares won re-election by a landslide, 73 to 27 %, with a 50,000 vote margin.[9]
November 2008 election for district attorney[10]
- P. David Soares (D), 80,441 votes, or 73 %
- Roger J. Cusick (I), 29,128 votes, or 27 %
After a canvass, including the counting of all absentee ballots, the vote was 75,857 for Soares on the Democratic line, 6,548 on the Independence Party line, and 4,882 on the Working Families Party line, for a total of 87,287.[11] Cusick received 31,996 votes, and there were 24 "scattered" and "void", or write-in votes.[11] There were 29,526 blank votes.[11]
Prosecutions
Murder of Peter Porco
Soares' office's first big case was the murder case of Peter Porco, an attorney, in 2005. ADA Michael McDermott secured a guilty verdict for the murder against his son, Christopher Porco.
Government integrity prosecutions
In October 2006, Soares opened an investigation into New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi on allegations of defrauding the government. On December 22, 2006, Hevesi accepted a plea bargain from Soares which called for Hevesi to plead guilty to one count of defrauding the government based on his personal use of state employees to care for his ailing wife, in lieu of a grand jury indictment.[12]
On January 3, 2007, Soares said he would open investigations into wrongdoings in the New York state departments of Education, Health, Motor Vehicles, Labor and Insurance. [13]
Soares investigated the so-called Troopergate scandal in August and September 2007, and found that Governor Eliot Spitzer and his staff broke no laws.[14] He re-opened his investigation amid much criticism.[15][16]
Steroids prosecutions
The Albany Country DA's office under Soares has prosecuted several defendants for selling illegal steroids to Major League Baseball players, and representatives of the Mitchell Commission met at least twice with Soares over this issue.[17] Soares secured the conviction of a physician who prescribed steroids to baseball players and other persons who the doctor had never examined.[18]
External links
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Official Biography. Accessed June 17, 2008.
- ^ a b c Michael Cooper, "Democrats Gain Seats, but G.O.P. Retains Senate and Most Incumbents Win," New York Times, November 3, 2004, found at New York Times archives. Retrieved January 30, 2009.
- ^ Albany County Board of Elections official web site results for September 14, 2004 primary election. Accessed January 9, 2008.
- ^ Albany County Board of Elections official web site results for November 2, 2004 general election. Accessed January 9, 2008.
- ^ Keith Murphy, David Soares: The Law, August 20, 2007, referenced at Vibe Magazine web site.
- ^ Marlin, Rick, McNulty won't run again: 10-term congressman plans announcement; move creates wide-open race for seat, Albany Times-Union October 26, 2007. Accessed October 26, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e Robert Gavin, "Soares unfazed by critics: Amid Troopergate probe, DA says he's not worried about re-election, Albany Times-Union, April 1, 2008, found atCritics article. Accessed April 1, 2008.
- ^ Times Union Editorial
- ^ Gavin, Robert, and Waldman, Scott, "Albany DA Soares easily thwarts Cusick's challenge: Troy voters reject city charter proposal; Albany elects 2 to school board," Times Union, found at Albany Times Union story Nov. 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
- ^ Albany County Board of Elections official web site results for November 4, 2008 general election. Accessed November 10, 2008.
- ^ a b c re-canvass page of the Albany County board of elections. Accessed December 2, 2008.
- ^ Jochnowitz, Jay (2006-11-22). "Hevesi’s Ride Ends". Albany Times Union. http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=3092.
- ^ Karlin, Rick (2007-01-03). "4 state agencies scrutinized". Albany Times Union. http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=550039&category=STATE&newsdate=1/3/2007.
- ^ Rick Karlin, Soares probe clears Spitzer — Prosecutor's exam of Troopergate finds no law broken by governor, staff, Friday, September 21, 2007, front page, Albany Times Union, found at [1], retrieved September 21, 2007.
- ^ Elizabeth Benjamin, Albany DA David Soares to release second report on Troopergate scandal, Monday, March 24, 2008, New York Daily News, found at [2], retrieved March 27, 2008.
- ^ Eliot's Other Whores, Tuesday, March 25, 2008, New York Post, found at [3], retrieved March 27, 2008.
- ^ Brendan J. Lyons, "MLB panel, soares confer:Names linked to DA's probe likely to be of interest to pro baseball, Albany Times Union, September 12, 2007, front page.
- ^ Robert Gavin, "Steroids prescriber going to prison: Ex-doctor who pleaded guilty to writing prescriptions for patients she never saw to serve 3 to 6 years, Albany Times-Union, January 15, 2008, found at Albany Times-Union article of January 15, 2008. Accessed January 16, 2008.
Legal offices Preceded by
Paul ClyneAlbany County District Attorney
2004 – PresentSucceeded by
IncumbentCategories:- Albany Law School alumni
- American prosecutors
- American politicians of Cape Verdean descent
- Cape Verdean emigrants to the United States
- Cornell University alumni
- County district attorneys in New York
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
- People from Albany County, New York
- People from Pawtucket, Rhode Island
- 1969 births
- Living people
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