2004 election On November 2, 2004, Soares was elected as Albany County District Attorney. He defeated incumbent District Attorney
Paul Clyne in a Democratic primary, and in the general election he defeated Clyne (
Independence Party) and Roger J. Cusick (
Republican). • David Soares, 14,909 votes, or 60.5% •
Paul Clyne, 9,741 votes, or 39.5%
November 2004 election for district attorney • David Soares (D), 75,610 votes, or 54.6% • Roger J. Cusick (R), 57,202 votes, 41.3% •
Paul Clyne (I), 5,677 votes, or 4.1% Prior to the Democratic primary election for DA of Albany County, New York, Paul Clyne had been considered a "shoo-in" incumbent by the local political establishment. This prediction, however, failed to materialize when Soares won by a landslide. Soares' campaign received third-party support from the progressive, union-backed Working Families Party, which viewed Soares' victory as a sign of its own influence and of a mandate for reform of New York's Rockefeller drug sentencing laws (which were opposed by Soares, but supported by Clyne). Michael Slackman of The New York Times stated that the Party had "established itself as an emerging political force statewide by getting a little-known candidate elected district attorney in Albany County." Soares' victory was called one of the "most stunning upsets in New York political history."
The New York Times noted the unusual nature of that upset the day that almost all
incumbents won easy re-election.
November 2008 election for district attorney • P. David Soares (D), 80,441 votes, or 73% • Roger J. Cusick (I), 29,128 votes, or 27% After a
canvass, including the counting of all
absentee ballots, the vote was 75,857 for Soares on the Democratic line, 6,548 on the Independence Party line, and 4,882 on the
Working Families Party line, for a total of 87,287. Cusick received 31,996 votes, and there were 24 "scattered" and "void", or
write-in votes. Soares was endorsed for re-election by the
Albany Times Union. Soares won the primary on September 13, 2012, by an unofficial count of 14,498 to 10,1432.
2024 re-election campaign Soares was defeated in a Democratic primary by criminal defense attorney Lee Kindlon, who had unsuccessfully challenged him 12 years earlier, by a margin of 55-45%. Soares ran a write-in campaign in the general election, losing to both Kindlon and Republican nominee Ralph Ambrosio.
Political career plans There was speculation in early 2007 in the local and national media that Soares might run for re-election as District Attorney, or for higher office, in 2008. Soares was featured in
Vibe Magazine, in which interview he discussed his goals and hopes for his career. On October 26, 2007, Soares was mentioned in the largest local daily newspaper as a possible replacement for
Congressman Mike McNulty in the 2008 race for Congress in the 21st congressional district of New York. However, Soares opted to run for re-election in 2008 instead.
Political criticism Soares has faced some criticism. His
drug policy reform position has been disputed by at least one defense lawyer, while some members of Albany police and others consider Soares as "soft" on drug crimes. Soares claims to be "unfazed by critics." During an interview with
Keith Olbermann, Soares called Occupy Albany a "wonderful protest," and stated that "we would decline to prosecute any of the cases, any of the arrests, based upon the fact that unless there were injuries to police officers or damages to property, then the people should be allowed to exercise their First Amendment right." Albany County Republican Party Chairman Don Clarey described Soares' decision not to prosecute as being "politically motivated," while attorney Lee Kindlon, who lost a challenge to Soares in a Democratic primary in 2012, accused Soares of violating his oath of office. In addition, the Working Families Party circulated a petition supporting Soares' decision not to prosecute the Occupy protesters. Soares received criticism from one Albany County official for arguing back vacation pay to an assistant district attorney whom he had dismissed. Michael Conners, County Comptroller, noted his supposed
hypocrisy, since Soares had received his past due pay when Clyne had fired him. Soares distinguished the two cases, because he fired the ADA for cause, while he had been fired for running against his boss. == Awards and Public Recognition ==