Bharara Weighs Independent Bid for New York Attorney General By Henry Goldman

[brooklynite]

Source: Bloomberg

When a New York jury convicted ex-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on bribery charges last week, the biggest winner might have been Preet Bharara, even though he was nowhere near the courtroom.

As the top federal prosecutor in New York, it was Bharara who brought the case against the once powerful Democrat, and the verdict may have cemented his reputation as a crusading corruption fighter. Yet, even before the jury came back, Bharara was already weighing a run for the suddenly vacant spot of New York attorney general -- possibly doing so as an independent, free of ties to Democrats and Republicans, according to a person familiar with his thinking.

“Running as an independent, that would be the first defining message of his campaign,” said William Cunningham, an aide to three former New York governors and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP. “Being attorney general is an easy fit for a former U.S. attorney.”

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2018-05-15/bharara-said-to-weigh-independent-race-for-n-y-attorney-general

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This strikes me as a huge mistake. It’s a huge effort to build a turnout operation without a Party supporting you, and most voters aren’t activists who know Bharara’s history. Add to which, he’s been happy to endorse other Democratic AG candidates

[hlthe2b]

1. He would be great; don't know re: his need for party machine, I leave that for NYers.

I know he is concerned about the political nature of the job and I sort of hate to subject him to that, but heavens he'd be a good choice for NY.

[Dopers_Greed]

2. I'd love him to be AG

But he'd probably just end up being a spoiler as an Independent, and a Dumpf toady would end up winning.

[Loki Liesmith]

3. Great way to split the D vote.

[IronLionZion]

4. He'd be a fantastic AG, and his career has been not very partisan

as long as this is done in a way that doesn't gift the election to GOP. Maybe if the Dems don't run against him?

Vermont and Maine and Minnesota have elected independents successfully.

[OnDoutside]

5. That's odd, he pretty much ruled that out in his last podcast, at least

That's what I took from what he said.

[avebury]

6. He would be great but I fear that if he runs as an Independent

that he will split the votes with the Democratic candidate which might allow a rethug to squeak in. That is how Paul LaPage made it to the Governor's office in Maine and he is a total wack job.

[Tom Rinaldo]

7. He would be an excellent AG, and I too would worry about vote splitting. However I am not certain he

would only pull votes from Democrats. Because he has prosecuted top Democrats he has genuine independent credentials that could allow some Republicans to support him also. I would prefer him running as a Democrat though, he obviously doesn't have to worry much about being perceived as overly partisan if elected, and it is a safer path forward in my opinion also.

[Hortensis]

8. Officially unaffiliated is good, even desirable, for an AG.

They should be completely free of bias toward one party or another. And a whole lot of people are sick of infighting in government, even if they vote 100% against anyone wearing the "other" label themselves.

Bharara's record is extensive and gives the voters plenty of information to evaluate him by. Including endorsing other Democratic AGs.

We have excellent reason to believe now that Comey's moving from Republican to independent in 2016 did not actually reflect nonpartisanship, as it should have; but nevertheless, that move was intended to give him an image of being unbiased as he went about his activities that year.

I really hope Bharara wins. With his national name and reputation, I'd hate to be his opponent, from either party.

[Alethia Merritt]

9. This would be Karma at its best. I really hope it happens.

[Calista241]

10. He addressed the AG rumors in his podcast.

And my impression was that he doesn't think law enforcement (and District Attorneys) should be elected officials. This makes them beholden to contributors / investors in their campaign. He seemed to feel pretty strongly about it.

Minds can change, and that was just my impression of his comments, but based on hearing his podcast, I don't think he's going to run for a law enforcement related public office position any time soon.