TROY – Whether or not the state attorney general's office asks an appeals court to reinstate the criminal case against Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel E. Abelove, county Democrats and Republicans say this fall's campaign will be about the first-term Republican's record.

Republicans are buoyed by the dismissal of Abelove's indictment on charges of perjury and official misconduct as the end of a "political witch hunt" by Albany Democrats over the fatal shooting of a driver by a Troy police officer that will recede as the incumbent's campaign progresses toward the Nov. 6 election.

Democrats are expecting a tough but winnable race for their candidate, Mary Pat Donnelly, an Independence Party member, focusing on the rapid staff turnover in the district attorney's office, the dismissal of cases for failing to meet speedy trial deadlines and what they view as Abelove's mishandling of politically charged cases involving fellow Republicans.

Abelove has maintained that his 23-year record as a prosecutor in county courts and in the military will lead to his re-election to a second four-year term.

Hanging over the start of the campaign season — nominating petitions are being circulated now to be filed July 12 — is what Attorney General Barbara Underwood's office will do following the dismissal of charges against Abelove on Monday by acting state Supreme Court Justice Jonathan D. Nichols of Columbia County.

"As we said yesterday, we will be moving the case forward, but no decision has been made yet on exactly how," Amy Spitalnick, Underwood's press secretary, said Tuesday.

Nichols dismissed the indictment against Abelove, ruling the attorney general did not have jurisdiction under executive law to prosecute him on the felony perjury charge and that doing so may have damaged Abelove's credibility with the grand jury on the two misdemeanor counts of official misconduct, resulting in their dismissal too.

The decision did not address whether there was evidence to support the criminal charges, according to Laurie Shanks, a criminal defense attorney and Albany Law School professor emerita.

Abelove won office in the 2014 election against Democratic candidate Carmelo M. Laquidara by 488 votes. Abelove's 22,981-22,493 vote victory has influenced the Democrats' planning to take back the office that they last held when now-Supreme Court Justice Richard McNally was district attorney.

Republicans and Democrats said it was the Independence Party line that won the election for Abelove. His 1,682 votes on that minor party line pushed him pass Laquidara.

The Republicans have long followed an electoral strategy of capturing minor party lines to offset the Democrats' enrollment edge and to capture unaffiliated voters' support.

The Democrats turned to Donnelly, whose Independence Party enrollment should get her on a primary ballot, and as a candidate with strong family ties to the Democrats — her father was once county chairman and her mother is the receiver of taxes in East Greenbush. They also see her appeal to women voters across the county, particularly in the suburbs. She has won election twice as East Greenbush town justice and cites her record working in the courts.

Donnelly has said she's seen Abelove's office in operation from her former position on the East Greenbush bench and that it has to be reformed to prosecute cases better and in a timely fashion.

The Democrats maintain Abelove failed to prosecute former County Legislature Chairman Martin Reid, R-Sand Lake, over receiving unemployment payments to which he was not entitled, a case the state attorney general took up successfully.

Democrats also criticize Abelove's dismissal of two misdemeanor counts of child endangerment filed against GOP operative Richard Crist in 2015 and pushing criminal charges against two Democratic supporters, former Assistant District Attorney Shane Hug and former DA's Investigator Gary Gordon, over the release of a 911 tape involving former Troy Republican mayoral candidate Jim Gordon.

The 911 case was turned over to a special prosecutor after a judge found the appearance of political motivation required Abelove's replacement with a special prosecutor, who decided not to pursue the charges.

Troy Republican Chairman Tom Casey said Abelove has suffered his biggest blows from the indictment, and its dismissal ends that problem.

"I've always called it a witch hunt. They got their blows in. It's going to be good for us in November. He's going to run on his record," Casey said.

Some Republican activists, who asked not to be named, agreed with the Democrats' charge that the turnover of assistant district attorneys, lack of communication in cases in the town courts and disorganization in the DA's office as ingredients for defeat in November.

One GOP insider complained that Abelove is going into the campaign with almost no money in his treasury and there's a push to get the town committees to hold fundraisers for him.

Abelove, who since being elected in January 2015, has raised $11,970. His January 2018 financial disclosure statement said his campaign had $4,495 on hand and owed him $40,000.

"Mary Pat is going to win with or without the court case. She will start operating the DA's office effectively and get everything back on track. She will prosecute appropriately," said Troy Democratic Chairwoman Carole Weaver.

"He's still the issue. You look at the blown cases that never went to trial," said Tom Wade, a Democratic county committee member and past county chairman.

Abelove's appeal is strongest in the county's rural towns, while the Democrats have run best in the county's two cities and most populous towns.



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