Manhattan District Attorney candidate Richard Aborn was just endorsed by former New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, who, on a conference call with reporters this morning, noted that he and his wife were married by another candidate in the race, Leslie Crocker Snyder.
Bratton, who has been married twice, did not offer more detail.
Bratton, now the chief of police in Los Angeles, said he met and had a number of conversations with the third candidate in the race, attorney Cy Vance.
But, Bratton said, he has a “much higher degree of intimacy” with Aborn, citing more than a dozen years of working together in New York, L.A. and London.
“I have a sense of his organization skills” and “how he moves,” said Bratton. “One of his great skills is as a facilitator of discussions.” Bratton said that is “reflective of how I run police departments.”
In a race to become the top prosecutor in Manhattan, the endorsement of the police commissioner who spearheaded the drop in crime in New York City under Rudy Giuliani is a big boost. The other most recognizable police commissioner, in the minds of voters, is probably Ray Kelly, who currently holds the post and is prohibited from making endorsements.
Bratton did not criticize the other candidates in the race, but repeatedly emphasized that Aborn “stays contemporary” on crime fighting issues. “He’s intimate with the constantly evolving paradigm” of law enforcement, said Bratton.
At one point, Aborn chimed in to offer an example, saying he wants to create a “dedicated counter-terrorism” unit in his office.
