William Fitzpatrick claims win for 9th term as Onondaga County District Attorney
Syracuse, N.Y. – Republican William Fitzpatrick claimed victory Tuesday night in his ninth term as Onondaga County District attorney Tuesday night.
Fitzpatrick led his opponent, Democrat Chuck Keller, 50,680 to 30,737 votes at about 11:35 p.m., according to unofficial election results.
This year’s contest was just Fitzpatrick’s fourth contested race in three decades.
After declaring victory, Fitzpatrick said the win felt great and he was deeply thankful for the love and support he has had from his supporters, which he proudly boasts includes several local unions.
“This is a very special night for me because this is the last hurrah,” Fitzpatrick said. The crowd responded with a few laughs and one person even jokingly yelled “liar.”
Fitzpatrick, 71, has worked in the DA’s office since 1975 and first took over as top county prosecutor in 1992. He is one of the longest-serving district attorneys in the state and is currently serving his 32nd year in office. Fitzpatrick has repeatedly said this will be his last term.
As Fitzpatrick began his speech, some people shouted “DA forever” in reference to a 1999 front page from the Syracuse New Times with a photo of Fitzpatrick and the headline, “District attorney for Life: Opponents run scared from Onondaga County’s Bill Fitzpatrick.”
In his long tenure, Fitzpatrick has remained hands-on in the prosecution of cases. Last year, Fitzpatrick was the lead prosecutor in the retrial of Robert Neulander who was reconvicted of killing his wife Leslie in 2012. This year, Fitzpatrick has led the charge on prosecuting the accused killers of 11-year-old Brexialee Torres-Ortiz. Two of the accused have pleaded guilty.
In a speech to those gathered at Vito’s Ristorante, Fitzpatrick’s son, Danny Fitzpatrick, said that his father’s reelection was a win for public safety, for people who believe in justice and a win for people like Anthony Broadwater.
The three-way race for Onondaga County District attorney was an uphill battle for challengers Keller, 53, and Conservative Party candidate Christine Varga, 68. The winner serves a four-year term and is in charge of the county’s District attorney’s Office, which handles criminal prosecution in all criminal courts in the county.
Unseating an incumbent is already a difficult feat. But opposing one of the longest-serving district attorneys in the state who had 13 times more money for his campaign than his opponents was a unique challenge.
Keller was expected to be the primary challenger because he received a major party endorsement. Keller — a career defense attorney — faced Fitzpatrick in 2019 and said he felt called to run again to give voters a choice.
“How do I ask people to vote or try to make things better if you don’t have an option?” Keller told Syracuse.com | The Post Standard in an interview before the election.
In 2019, another Conservative candidate, Gary Lavine, set up a three-way race with Keller and Fitzpatrick. The Conservative candidate garnered just 8% of the vote.
Leading up to the 2023 election, candidates touched on issues stemming from recent controversial criminal justice reforms including bail reform and raise the age laws.
Fitzpatrick and Varga, a retired prosecutor who worked under Fitzpatrick, largely agreed with one another.
They said that “raise the age” — a law that allows all 16 and 17-year-olds who commit non-violent crimes to have cases deferred to family court — has taken away a strong deterrent for juvenile crime. They also both stressed that the judges should be given more discretion to set bail as they see fit.
Keller agreed with Fitzpatrick that repeat offenders should lose their opportunity for bail. Keller said that bail reform was important but could be improved. Keller disagreed with his opponents on raise the age saying that repealing the law would not solve the root of the problems that lead to higher juvenile crime.
All three agreed that the DA’s office needs to aid local leaders and law enforcement with reaching at-risk youth in the community.
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Election Night 2023
Staff writer Anne Hayes covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at ahayes@syracuse.com.
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