David Soares and defense attorney Lee Kindlon clashed over the local issues of Albany County as well as state and national trends in the Democratic debate for county district attorney hosted by Spectrum News 1 on Tuesday.

Soares is running for his sixth term while Kindlon is challenging him this time around.

Crime was the forefront of both the debate and the office both men want to occupy.

“We are in a state of emergency in Albany County because of the violence that is occurring on the streets,” Soares said.

Kindlon said the crime Soares criticizes is his legacy over the last 20 years.

“Nothing gets better with him as the district attorney,” Kindlon said.

Soares has heavily criticized the state’s bail laws and did so again on Tuesday.

“The only thing we need to do in the state of New York is restore judicial discretion,” Soares said in regard to the legislation that has changed several times over the last few years. He said judges must be able to consider dangerousness.

Kindlon said as it stands, judges can set bail and remand people as needed and said bail reform has actually been a benefit to public safety.

“The only thing bail did was it stopped punishing people for being poor,” Kindlon said.

The two candidates also discussed the integrity of the DA’s office; Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s case against former President Donald Trump that led to his conviction last week; and other topics.

You can watch the full debate in the video player above.

Primary day is June 25. Early voting runs from June 15-23.