1981 Brooklyn County District Attorney election

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1981 Brooklyn County District Attorney election
Flag of the Borough of Manhattan.svg
← 1977November 3, 19811985 →
  Elizabeth Holtzman (3x4 cropped).jpg
Candidate Elizabeth Holtzman Norman RosenBrendan Connolly
Party Democratic Republican Conservative
Alliance Liberal Right to Life
Popular vote209,65186,62417,278
Percentage66.86%27.51%5.51%
District Attorney before election

Eugene Gold
Democratic

Elected District Attorney

Elizabeth Holtzman
Democratic

An election for Brooklyn District Attorney was held on November 3, 1981. Elizabeth Holtzman, a former member of the United States House of Representatives, defeated Norman Rosen, the executive assistant to the sitting district attorney, in both the Democratic primary and general election.

Contents

Eugene Gold, who was first elected as district attorney in 1968, declined to seek reelection and endorsed Rosen. Rosen was supported by Ed Koch and the Brooklyn Democratic Party and outspent Holtzman, but lost due to Holtzman's strong support among black voters. In the general election, Rosen was again defeated as the Republican nominee.

Background

Eugene Gold was elected Brooklyn District Attorney in 1968, [1] and reelected with Republican support in 1973 and 1977. [2] He oversaw the third-largest district attorney office in the United States. [3] On May 28, 1981, he announced that he would not seek reelection and that he would instead work on improving Israel–United States relations. [3]

Nominations

Democratic

Candidates

Did not run

On the day Gold announced he would not run, he endorsed his executive assistant Norman Rosen, who had worked for him for 13 years, to succeed him. [3] [7] [8] Rosen's campaign was coordinated by Thomas Davide [9] and managed by Walter Diamond. [10] Rosen was supported by Mayor Ed Koch and Brooklyn's Democratic political machine. [11] Koch claimed that he would not support any candidate, but endorsed Rosen on four days before the primary. [12]

The Kings County Democratic Coalition wanted Elizabeth Holtzman to run and she gave them permission to circulate petitions for her, but declined to state whether she would run. [13] Holtzman launched her campaign on July 22. [14]

During the campaign, Rosen ran a radio commercial that stated, "Liz Holtzman, she's a nice girl; maybe I'd like to have her as a daughter, but not as a DA." [15] Holtzman and Rosen participated in a debate on August 21, and aired by WNBC on August 23. [16] By September, Rosen raised $228,603, with a $50,000 loan from Fredrick DeMatteis and another $50,000 loan from assemblyman Joseph Martuscello, while Holtzman raised $145,837. [17]

Between 8 p.m. and 9 a.m. September 20 to 21, people broke into Rosen's campaign office. 9 telephone units worth a combined $4,500, 2 IBM Selective typewriter worth $2,000, and a $75 loudspeaker microphone were stolen. Davide claimed that the theft was "a case of political sabotage", but Rosen clarified that he was not accusing Holtzman or her supporters of having conducted it. [9]

The primary was initially scheduled for September 10, but was pushed back to September 22, due to a court ruling on September 8, regarding the redistricting of the New York City Council. [10] [18] Holtzman won the nomination due to strong support from black voters, [19] [20] winning 74% in black-majority areas. [21] Assemblyman Albert Vann was credited with gaining this support for Holtzman. [22] Rosen spent $400,000 compared to Holtzman's $250,000. [23]

Others

The Republicans selected Aaron Schechter and the Liberals selected Herbert Dicker, chair of the party in Brooklyn, as their respective paper candidates. These candidates were replaced as the Republican line was given to Rosen and the Liberal line given to Holtzman. [12] [2] Brendan Connolly received the nominations of the Conservative and Right to Life parties. [24]

General

Koch switched his support to Holtzman for the general election. [25] Fred Pantaleone, the chair of the Brooklyn Republicans, hoped that Rosen would become the first person to win the district attorney election as a Republican in decades. [26]

Holtzman spent $60,000 during the general election. [27] Her election made her first female district attorney in New York City and the second in New York State. [28] After losing the election Rosen was appointed to the Queens County District Attorney's office by John J. Santucci. [29]

Results

1981 Brooklyn County District Attorney election [30]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Elizabeth Holtzman 197,200 62.89%
Liberal Elizabeth Holtzman 12,451 3.97%
Total Elizabeth Holtzman 209,651 66.86%
Republican Norman Rosen86,62427.51%
Conservative Brendan Connolly10,2803.28%
Right to Life Brendan Connolly6,9982.23%
TotalBrendan Connolly17,2785.51%
Total votes313,553 100.00%

Endorsements

Elizabeth Holtzman endorsements
Federal officials
State officials
Local officials
Newspapers
Notable individuals
Norman Rosen endorsements
Local officials
Notable individuals
Organizations

References

Works cited

Books

  • Conway, Jill; Bourque, Susan (1989). Learning About Women: Gender, Politics, & Power . Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. ISBN   978-0-472-06398-7.
  • Le Veness, Frank; Sweeney, Jane (1987). Women Leaders in Contemporary U.S. Politics . Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers. doi:10.1515/9781685859480. ISBN   978-0-931477-87-4.

Newspapers

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