Mike McMahon is running for a third term as Staten Island district attorney, unopposed as a Democrat, in the only borough where Republicans are often the favorite to win general elections.
“I think I’ve always been known as a common sense Staten Island Democrat, someone who is more concerned about getting the job done than worrying about the politics of it,” McMahon said.
What You Need To Know
- Michael McMahon is running unopposed for his third term as district attorney in Staten Island
- Before becoming district attorney, McMahon was a member of the City Council and served a single term in Congress
- McMahon is more conservative than his fellow Democratic district attorneys in the city
Common sense, but also conservative to some of the defense attorneys who go up against his prosecutors inside Staten Island Criminal Court.
In two cases where bail was eligible, involving alleged sexual abuse and domestic violence, prosecutors requested and a judge granted monetary bail.
McMahon touts his prosecutors’ records.
“For serious violent crimes, we have the best conviction rate of any office in the state of New York,” he said.
McMahon also highlights the alternatives to prison they offer, even though he’s critical of bail and criminal justice reforms from Albany.
“Close to 40% of the people who get arrested on Staten Island get an offer — a meaningful offer — that will reduce or dismiss their charges if they take responsibility,” McMahon said.
The Staten Island Republican Party did not respond to requests for comment about failing to field a candidate.
But the borough’s GOP chairman, Assemblyman Michael Tannousis, told the political publication “City & State” this May, “We had some interest in regards to that position, but no interest that materialized into a candidacy.”
McMahon’s uncontested re-election is a change of fortune for his political career — a Democratic city councilman who defied the red hue of Staten Island to become a congressman, just to get swept out after one term.
“There’s a lot of heat in a congressional campaign because of its ties to national politics, cable TV, hot-button issues,” said Richard Flanagan, a political science professor at the College of Staten Island. “The district attorney is in a different lane and Michael McMahon has always been a centrist Democrat.”
That middle lane approach is benefitting him politically.
“It’s hard to run against someone who’s done a very good job,” Flanagan said.