Albany County District Attorney David Soares is brushing off attacks from his opponent, Lee Kindlon, saying they’re nothing he hasn’t heard before and he doesn’t expect voters to feed into them.
“I don’t have any response to the absurdity that is coming from the opposition. When you look at the campaign and the present opposition, semantically, it seems like I’m reliving my past campaigns all over again,” said Soares. “The same things, the same issues that people of Albany County have rejected in primaries and in the general election dating back to 2004.”
Soares, who announced he would seek a third term on June 4, kicked off a series of campaign rallies on Tuesday, June 26, where he talked to supporters, reflected on his accomplishments and laid out his platform.
Kindlon, on the other hand, got his campaign started early, announcing Dec. 1, 2011, his intent to challenge Soares in the primary.
“Over the course of the past year or so … I’ve realized the criminal justice system wasn’t working for really anybody involved; the cops, the lawyers, victims,” said Kindlon. “In a larger sense, it wasn’t working for taxpayers of Albany County.”
Kindlon has sent out regular press releases targeting Soares and his office, calling for him to be more transparent and publically release “all pertinent information relating to his schedule.” Kindlon said as district attorney he would disclose online a “detailed accounting” of his daily schedule.
Kindlon also called out Soares on the recent censure case that found him “guilty of professional misconduct” after he was sued by a Florida pharmacy and weighed in on a judge’s determination that Soares failed to follow procedure in the termination of a staff member.
“This was a very simple personnel procedure that Soares should have been familiar with. It is an absolute embarrassment to the office and a mind-boggling waste of taxpayer money,” wrote Kindlon in the release.
Soares, though, said the DA’s office is functioning just fine. While Kindlon alleges that crime in the county is up while conviction rates are down, Soares said he’s proud of his office’s prosecution record.
“We’ve amassed a wonderful record in many areas, specifically our DWI prosecutions and the achievements we’ve been able to see in the areas of white collar crime prosecutions,” said Soares.
Soares created a Financial Crimes Bureau to combat fraud, implemented a “Making Crime Pay” program which uses money confiscated from criminals to purchase needed equipment for local police departments and created Seniors and Law Enforcement Together (SALT), an outreach program providing assistance to the elderly.
Kindlon said besides addressing “waste and mismanagement” he believes to be rampant in Soares’ office, he plans to focus on “making sure victims are put first” and will reform the juvenile justice system if elected.
Soares said his office’s victim services have been groundbreaking.
“What we provided in terms of victim services to victims of crimes has never been done before,” said Soares. We’ve enhanced our services that we’re providing to victims in the Special Victims Unit.”
If reelected, Soares said he plans to continue hammering away at the goals he set for himself at the beginning of his tenure. Ramping up work on street crimes, catching more drug kingpins, tackling cyber crime and addressing crimes against senior citizens and pets are high on his list.
“The thing about an office like the Albany County DA is you have to think of it in terms of General Motors, where you have so many different divisions and as the DA I have set goals for each one of our bureaus and I have strong leadership in each of these bureaus and they continue to deliver,” said Soares.
According to Kindlon, he has a vision and plan that voters want.
“So often people tell me that David’s out of touch, he has no experience in the courtroom, people are disappointed in his waste of taxpayer funds,” said Kindlon. “We like offering a very stark contrast in some of the positive things we’re going to be able to change as soon as I take office.”
Kindlon recently released the first of what he said will be several videos highlighting the difference between Soares and himself. The first video, titled “David Soares Speaking on His Experience,” shows Soares “describing his lack of experience in the courtroom.”
Meanwhile, Soares said he’s in “phase one” of his campaign and plans to continue gathering petitions and knocking on doors.
“We have an effective strategy and it has been successful in the past,” said Soares. “Voters will come to the polls and they will overwhelmingly elect to keep us in office because we prioritize the cases and issues that are important to the people of Albany County.”
