BROOKLYN — Acting Kings County District Attorney Eric Gonzalez earned the Democratic Party nomination Tuesday night and will likely continue to head up the office he's been in charge of since last fall, following the death of Ken Thompson.
According to the city's Board of Elections, Gonzalez secured 53 percent of all the votes cast.
The runner up, former prosecutor Anne Swern, earned just 11.5 percent of Democratic votes in the crowded race where candidates vied to show off their progressive credentials. Former Assistant District Attorney Marc Fleidner got 10 percent of the vote.
Gonzalez, who's pledged to carry on the reformer legacy of his former colleague Ken Thompson, pointed to some key changes to the office since he and Thompson were at the helm: stopping the prosecution of low level marijuana possession, a conviction review unit that's exonerated 22 wrongfully convicted men, vacating old summonses that could lead arrests, and tailoring the sentences of undocumented New Yorkers in non-violent crimes so they won't face deportation.
A total of 145,163 Democratic voters in Brooklyn turned out to the polls during Tuesday's primary election, representing just 14 percent of all eligible, active Democrats in the borough, making it the second-lowest turnout of any primary in modern history.
No candidates will challenge Gonzalez in the general election on Nov. 7.
