ITHACA, N.Y. — Local attorney Ed Kopko accepted the Independence Party nomination this week for Tompkins County District Attorney, meaning that voters will have two choices for candidates in the fall.
“I am exceedingly grateful to the Independence Party for giving the voters a choice in the election this November between me and the Democratic candidate who has no prosecutorial experience whatsoever,” Kopko said in a statement.
Kopko is a longtime Tompkins County attorney with more than 30 years of law experience. He served in the U.S. Navy Reserves before being honorably discharged. He also previously served as an Assistant District Attorney in Pennsylvania for around two years. He has tried hundreds of cases, including homicides, throughout his career.
Some of the reforms he has proposed for District Attorney’s office include a conviction integrity program; more specialized courts for issues such as mental health and domestic issues; and growth in community outreach programs.
To read more about Kopko’s suggestions, click here.
Attorney Matt Van Houten was nominated by the Tompkins County Democratic Committee as the party’s candidate last week.
The Republican party has not announced a candidate for this election.
Related: Matt Van Houten receives Democratic nomination for Tompkins DA
Kopko also said that the Democrats unofficially planned the nomination in advance, after former District Attorney Gwen Wilkinson resigned from her job one day after the date party primaries would have been mandated.
Wilkinson has said publicly that she had been suffering from medical conditions for several months, which prompted her early departure from the office.
During a Q&A earlier this month, Acting District Attorney Andrew Bonavia, who was previously vying for the DA spot, said Wilkinson officially resigned on July 8 because she was ill and the date was coincidentally the end of a pay period. He denied that there was any conspiracy to shoo-in a candidate and was “appalled” at the suggestion.
“This action by the Democratic Party leadership is another example of why so many citizens feel disenfranchised in today’s world, the party bosses believe it is their right and duty to choose those who we would empower with tremendous authority to enforce our laws and prosecute those accused of violating them. No person is above the law or below it,” he wrote in a statement. “I am pressing for a legal resolution to the flawed Democratic Committee selection process, and I hope that it will be resolved by the Court fairly and quickly.”
Read his entire news release below.
Ithaca attorney Ed Kopko, accepts Independence Party nomination for D.A. “I am exceedingly grateful to the Independence Party for giving the voters a choice in the election this November between me and the Democratic candidate who has no prosecutorial experience whatsoever.”
With prior experience as an ADA I’ve been interested in pursuing election to the Tompkins County District Attorney’s office for many years. “I was on alert for Democratic leadership hijinks when Gwen (Wilkerson, former, now retired DA) waited to make her resignation official until one day after the date party primaries would have been mandated.
Instead of a primary, 64 faithful Democratic Party committeemen (insiders) were mandated to make the selection instead of the voters in Tompkins County.“
“The recent Democratic nomination process to select the Democratic candidate for DA was deeply flawed — the leadership authorized a vote without a quorum present, in violation of their own bylaws, and then illegally used proxies to push the vote to their hand-picked and favored candidate. The leadership allowed ineligible committee members to vote, stacking the deck to ensure that their pre-determined outcome would be achieved.”
This action by the Democratic Party leadership is another example of why so many citizens feel disenfranchised in today’s world, the party bosses believe it is their right and duty to choose those who we would empower with tremendous authority to enforce our laws and prosecute those accused of violating them. No person is above the law or below it. I am pressing for a legal resolution to the flawed Democratic Committee selection process, and I hope that it will be resolved by the Court fairly and quickly.