“My dad was a New York City cop, and he was the person I admire most in my life. And he set a standard for me,” Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said.
That's a standard Fitzpatrick says has allowed him to serve for 32 years as Onondaga County's chief prosecutor. Now he's looking for just one more final term.
“I think people understand that I work within the system as best I can and that they could not get a more competent, more professional DA,” Fitzpatrick said.
And while Fitzpatrick points to what he said is an 85% homicide conviction rate, more than double the national average, he also has one thing he cannot get out of his head. It’s a big reason why he wants a ninth and final term.
Juvenile crime, he says, and through what he calls grandstanding by lawmakers, has made it become almost impossible — through the Raise the Age law — to hold youths accountable for the crimes they commit, especially when they're multiple offenders.
“They've created this monstrosity where there's just literally no accountability for a juvenile crime,” he said. “It's really a disgrace.”
But not everyone is onboard with giving the Republican his ninth term, including one of his opponents, defense attorney Chuck Keller.
“My parents instilled in me, particularly my father, a real sense of doing the right thing no matter what,” Keller said.
And that includes, he says, not only calling out, but taking on a longtime staple in the community, one that he says has been mishandling cases and his office.
“I don't have any problem with people who commit crimes being arrested, prosecuted and properly punished. But that's not what's happening here. I don't know what we're doing, but it's not that. We're barely scraping by. And again, we can do better,” Keller said, while adding that cases aren’t being properly attended to and the turnover rate in the office shows it’s not a place people are happy to work.
Fitzpatrick said he has no response to Keller’s allegations, saying he’s reiterating beliefs that voters already rejected.
Then there's the wild card in all of this. The Conservative Party candidate, Christine Varga, said she entered this race when it was made clear that her party would be nominating the Democrat, Keller, for that line.
“Being a defense attorney is ingrained in his soul,” Varga said. “And when you combine that with all of the criminal justice reforms that he has endorsed, I just didn't feel that this would be a safe community.”
Varga said her decades of experience, including many years in Fitzpatrick's office, have shown her that this job really is all about supporting victims.
“One of the things that we weren't supposed to negotiate were vulnerable victims. And I just I want to make sure that the victims are adequately protected,” Varga added.
What remains to be seen is how Vargas' presence in this race will affect it. She did keep Keller off that Conservative Party line, but now, will she as a conservative, also split votes with the GOP candidate Fitzpatrick?
Early voting in New York begins Oct. 28 and runs through Nov. 5. Election Day is Nov. 7.