Bragg challenged by ‘tough-on-crime’ Democrat in DA’s race

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has a notorious reputation for prosecuting all the wrong crimes.

He has allowed hardened criminals to walk while trying to prosecute a bodega clerk who was defending himself, and, of course, the prosecution of Donald Trump.

Well, Bragg is now in the fight for his professional life, as another Democrat is challenging him in this upcoming DA’s race who promises to be tougher on criminals, especially when it comes to subway crimes.

Time to Toughen Up

The primary race for the Manhattan DA’s race will be held in June, and Bragg is going to have a fight on his hands.

Civil litigator and former Bronx prosecutor Patrick Timmins has thrown his hat into the ring, and he is tapping into one of the sore spots where Bragg is being attacked by New Yorkers.

Timmins is focusing on straphanger crimes and fair violators.

He stated, “No one’s getting a safe, comfortable, easy ride. We all know about the platform pushing, subway slashing, it’s at historical levels.”

Timmons believes that by cracking down on fair beaters, it will have the trickle-down effect of stopping other crimes on the subway, stating, “I understand ‘what’s a fare evasion here and there,’ but once there’s 20 of them by one person, then maybe something should be done.

“Most of the people who go down below the ground or even up to an elevated train and commit an attempted murder, a felonious assault, all those things are generally not people who swipe to get in.”

Bragg stopped prosecuting fair evaders almost immediately after taking office, instructing his prosecutors not to file charges in a memo that was issued on his first day in office.

In addition to the bodega worker mentioned above, Jose Alba, Timmins also went after Bragg for prosecuting Brian Chin, who beat a homeless man after he was attacked with a weapon, as well as Daniel Penny, who was charged in the death of Jordan Neely, who was terrorizing straphangers before Penny put him in a headlock and put him to sleep (Neely later died).

Timmins stated, “There’s been a lot of poor decisions by Alvin Bragg in those three-plus years. I’m a common sense Democrat.”

The Bragg campaign responded to the attacks by Timmins, stating, “Patrick Timmins’ own neighborhood Democratic club endorsed Alvin Bragg virtually unanimously and here’s why: A prosecutor for more than two decades, Alvin has initiated a multi-pronged approach that has helped reduce shootings in Manhattan by 45%, invested in mental health outreach, stood up for victims, and held the powerful accountable.

“We know safety concerns are real, and we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but we are inspired by the support Alvin is receiving from Manhattan’s three Congressmembers, 25 neighborhood Democratic clubs, and people across the borough.”

Bragg already has a big fundraising lead over Timmins, so this will be an uphill climb for Timmons, but we can only hope common sense prevails and Timmins is able to knock Bragg out of the race.

I would still love to see a Republican prosecutor take over that office, but that is not likely in the deep blue city and state of New York.

The entire city is raging over straphanger crimes, so let’s see if they vote with their brains or muscle memory come June.