THE BRONX — Lawyer Robert Siano will officially kick off his campaign as the Republican Party's candidate for Bronx District Attorney this week.
Siano, who has been cross-endorsed by the Conservative Party, will launch his campaign on Oct. 14 at 6:30 p.m. at Bronx County Republican Party Headquarters, where he will outline his ideas for reducing case backlogs and addressing the office's low conviction rates.
"I would like to consider expanding the drug courts for the right defendants to get them treatment so we can help reduce the court backlog," Siano said in a phone interview, stressing that this option would be focused on helping nonviolent offenders.
He will be facing Judge Darcel Clark in the race, who was tapped by the Bronx Democratic Party to run for District Attorney Robert Johnson's long-held seat after he resigned for a judgeship. Johnson had been endorsed by the Republican and Conservative parties as well.
Siano, a former lawyer for the Administration for Children's Services, now works both criminal and civil cases as a solo practitioner.
He is a native of The Bronx who graduated from New York University and St. John's University School of Law.
"The people of The Bronx deserve someone of Robert Siano's experience and character," Bronx County Republican Party Chairman John Greaney said in a statement.
"Mr. Siano's long history of fighting for children and others in need will be a breath of fresh air for all Bronxites."
His law partner, Matthew Libous, was found guilty of tax fraud in January. However, these charges were not related to his work with Siano.
The GOP candidate previously ran to be a state Supreme Court justice in The Bronx in 2013 and ran to be a civil court judge in the borough in 2014, but both campaigns were unsuccessful.
The Republican will likely face an uphill battle winning an election in the heavily-Democratic Bronx, which is only about three weeks away.
He said he planned to combat these challenges by getting out into the borough as much as possible over the next few weeks and meeting as many different voters as he could.
"We have a short time period, but we make the most of every day," he said. "I think we can get out there and reach the voters of The Bronx."
Additionally, Siano's opponent has been strongly criticized by good government groups after Johnson did not announce his decision to seek a judgeship until after he had already won the Democratic primary, freeing up party leaders to name his replacement candidate.
Siano said he respected Clark but maintained that voters in The Bronx would be hungry and grateful for the chance to choose between multiple candidates for the District Attorney position.
"We’re just going to get out there and let Bronx voters know that there’s another choice," he said. "That’s what they want."
