WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JUNE 13, 2019 13
LETTERS AND COMMENTS
WHAT WERE THEY
SMOKING?
As a Forest Hills High School alum
(class of 1957), I’m glad that disgraced
principal Ben Sherman finally
resigned after heavy pressure from
students, parents and teachers.
But I’m angry that he was
transferred to the Department of
Education’s headquarters in the
office of First Deputy Chancellor,
“supporting our comprehensive
school improvement efforts,” as
noted in a published DOE statement.
Sherman’s base pay remains
$173,693 a year, plus he gets a $10,000
raise if he works an extra five hours
a month, said the DOE. That’s what I
call “failing upward.”
Did DOE executives smoke the
same pot as Forest Hills High School
students did under Sherman’s
tenure when they made this
dumb decision?
Richard Reif, Kew Gardens Hills
NEGATIVE REACTION
TO DA RACE
I have looked with interest at the
Queens District Attorney race, the
fi rst open primary in a long time
coming up in less than two weeks.
Receiving campaign brochures
from two of the candidates, Greg
Lasak and Melinda Katz, I have looked
at their qualifi cations for the job, as
well as how they present themselves:
their brochures trying to convince
me to vote for them.
Unfortunately, one of the
candidates, Greg Lasak, has gone
deridingly negative. His “Who
would you trust with the safety of
your loved ones, your children?”
brochure is defi nitely going toward
the Dark Side.
I know, going negative is a political
tool, to show your opponent in a
negative light, but it has made me
question my support for Judge
Lasak, in a contest I thought I was
decided on.
I am not suggesting that my fellow
voters cast their ballot for a specifi c
candidate running, but I lament the
use of negative advertising to prove
one’s worthiness for an elected
position. Must it be so? Isn’t it enough
to show one’s background, one’s
qualifi cations for the position,
without showing their opponent in
a negative light?
In the brochure I’m referring to,
Melinda Katz is called a “Term-limited
Career Politician,” neglecting to give
her credit for her time working for
Borough President Claire Shulman
and the photo used is defi nitely not
fl attering in every sense of the word.
It is sad when someone who seems so
qualifi ed, for the elected position, has
to go negative to prove his point and it
will make me question whom I should
vote for on Primary Day, June 25.
I find I don’t want to reward
someone for going negative when it
isn’t necessary.
SM Sobelsohn, Kew Gardens
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SNAPS
SUNNY DAYS AT THE
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OP-ED
Making his case for DA
BY GREGORY LASAK
The next Queens district
attorney will face critical
challenges at the crossroads
of a rapidly changing criminal
justice system. Lives are at stake.
Fundamental issues of fairness are
at risk.
On-the-job training is not
an option.
The next Queens district
at torney must make needed
reforms whi le safeguarding
our families from the scourge
of violent crime. Above all, the
next district attorney must
fundamentally ensure equal
justice. You cannot, however,
make fairness and equal justice
your priority when you haven’t
the faintest idea where to start.
A career in politics is irrelevant
experience for running a
prosecutor’s office. Politicians
are focused on self-preservation.
A district at torney must be
singularly focused on justice.
I have fought for justice for
victims in their darkest hour for
nearly 40 years as a judge and
as an assistant district attorney.
My career politician opponents
haven’t the slightest idea what
that entails.
Starting in the 1990s, while some
of my opponents were fundraising
and plotting their political
careers, I was prosecuting violent
felons and reinvestigating the
cases of individuals who were
wrongfully arrested, indicted or
convicted. I worked to exonerate
nearly two dozen innocent men
a decade before anyone had
even thought of a conviction
review unit.
I have tried cases, supervised
criminal investigations and
prosecutions, and personally
c o n d u c t ed wr o n g -ma n
investigations. I served Queens
as an assistant district attorney,
rising to the ranks of chief of the
Homicide Bureau and executive
assistant district attorney for the
Major Crimes Division, which was
comprised of the Homicide Trials,
Homicide Investigations, Career
Criminal Major Crimes, Special
Victims and Domestic Violence
bureaus. During my time in the
Queens district attorney’s office,
I spent countless hours of my
life as the legal adviser at crime
scenes at all hours of the night and
early morning.
For 14 years, I served as a
New York State Supreme Court
Justice, starting in the Drug
Treatment Court and rising to
deputy administrative judge,
sitting in the homicide part and
overseeing some of the county’s
highest profile cases. The District
Attorney is on call 24 hours a day,
seven days a week and is ultimately
responsible for all legal decisions
made by the office.
In my career, I have always
lived by the credo, “Do the right
thing.” Doing what is right
and just is not always popular.
Anyone who knows me knows I
have never been afraid to stand
up to bosses, fellow prosecutors,
cops or judges in the pursuit
of justice.
For me, doing the right
thing meant investigating and
supervising the 1985 prosecution
of three pol ice off icers, a
sergeant and a lieutenant who
were indicted for using a stun
gun to torture suspects in a
police precinct.
Before it became popular, I
was diverting low-level, nonviolent
offenders to treatment
courts and programs. And I have
always fought to protect the most
vulnerable members of society
from those that prey on them.
I have spent my entire career
pursuing justice for all people in
Queens. As district attorney, I will
continue to do so while keeping
Queens safe and implementing
necessary reforms. Queens
deserves a district attorney who
is committed to fighting for equal
justice for all.
Gregory Lasak is a retired judge
and candidate for Queens district
attorney.
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