July 04, 2019

Queer progressive Latina poised to become Democratic nominee for Queens

topic:	Humans
located:	USA
editor:	Yair Oded

The progressive movement sweeping through the Democratic party may very well secure an additional victory this coming week, as former public defender Tiffany Cabán became the presumptive Democratic nominee for Queens district attorney.

Following a turbulent grassroots campaign, the 31-year-old queer Latina lawyer secured a narrow lead over her incumbent, Queens borough president Melinda Katz. While absentee and affidavit ballots have yet to be counted, it seems highly likely that Cabán will emerge as the victor and run as the Democratic nominee this coming November. 

As a public defender in Manhattan, Cabán witnessed first-hand the injustice inflicted by prosecutors who disproportionately target racial minority and low-income individuals. Infuriated by what she saw, Cabán decided to join the district attorney (DA) race in her home borough of Queens. 

Throughout her campaign, Cabán laid out various ways in which her DA office will seek to reform the morally corrupt and racist criminal justice system from within, including ending mass incarceration through alternative rehabilitation programmes, fewer prosecutions, the abolition of cash bail, shorter sentences, and increased opportunities for parole. Cabán stated her office will not prosecute ‘broken window’ crimes, such as drug possession, loitering, and fare evasion, which are being used as a method of criminalising the African American, Latin, and immigrant communities. 

Cabán’s campaign faced a fair share of obstacles initially, particularly when it came to funding (where she lagged behind her established opponent). That changed, however, as Cabán began to secure the endorsement of high profile liberals, such as Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. Shortly thereafter, people from across the country began funnelling small donations to Cabán’s campaign, which ended up raking in roughly $450,000.

Cabán made sure to emphasise her background in order to inspire solidarity and galvanise the support of residents. “I’m a queer Latina from a working-class family,” said Cabán in a campaign video, “People Like us are exactly who the system is trying to keep down. That's why I became a public defender: to defend my community.” 

Cabán appears to be part of a growing trend of public defenders and criminal defence lawyers running for DA positions across the country in order to reform the criminal justice system from the inside. Yet some critics doubt that ‘progressive prosecutors’ could even exist, seeing as they would ultimately have to function within a system that is rotten to the core and is fundamentally based on morally corrupt principals and agendas – such as utilising the prison system to garner profits and sustain the marginalisation and oppression of racial minorities in America.

Such critics argue that whatever changes progressive prosecutors would seek to instil would be superficial and that despite their good intentions they will inevitably be perpetuating the dysfunction of the criminal justice system. They argue that the only solution to this problem would be to dismantle the system altogether and reconstruct a new one.

It remains to be seen to what degree prosecutors like Cabán will succeed in cementing their agendas. That said, their mere election seems to constitute a significant feat for marginalised communities, who until now had no representation in the criminal justice system. 

Photo: Megan Magray for Cabán for Queens