Tiffany Cabán Makes History in Queens
QUEENS, N.Y.—Another earthshaking political upset roared through Queens, New York on Tuesday night.
Nearly a year to the day since Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez burst onto the national political scene with a shocking primary upset win against the powerful House Democrat Joe Crowley, Tiffany Cabán emerged victorious in a six-person primary race to replace deceased Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
Cabán, a 31-year-old Latina public defender who identifies as queer, is now poised to be put in charge of one of the largest jurisdiction populations in the country, with nearly 2.4 million people living in Queens. Her platform of “people-powered justice,” including ending cash bail, not prosecuting subway turnstile jumping, prosecuting the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, closing Rikers Island and decriminalizing sex work marks a massive departure from the traditional tough-on-crime, prosecutorial approach of DA’s around the country including the longtime Queens DA, Richard Brown. The apparent win, with Queens Borough President Melinda Katz yet to concede would be not only an unprecedented victory for the left in New York againsta borough-wide president, but a sign of the energy around the criminal justice movement in races nationwide.