Robert Morgenthau has been the District Attorney of New York County, known to the rest of the world as Manhattan, forever.  He is now 89 years old.  When the name John McCain is raised in his presence, he sneers and calls him “kid”.  He’s an old man by anyone’s calculations.

Morgenthau was elected DA in 1974, following the death of legendary District Attorney Frank Hogan.  He had previously served as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1962 to 1969, during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.  He was ultimately forced out by Nixon. 

Morgenthau came from a time when the wealthy and whitebread of New York Society filled important public offices as a matter of noblesse oblige.  They came from families that had already established their wealth and social standing, and had little left to prove.  Instead, service became their way of proving their worth.  This, if nothing else, shows what an anachronism Bob Morgenthau is today.

In 2005, the unthinkable happened.  An upstart challenged Robert Morgenthau in the Democratic primary for District Attorney.  The very idea that anyone would confront the last man standing from the days of old New York was not merely unthinkable, but an affront.  Morgenthau, despite his age, held the loyalty of every person who served under him.  Well, every person except one:  Leslie Crocker Snyder.

Leslie Crocker Snyder served as a prosecutor under Morgenthau.  She fought her way into a man’s world by being the first woman to try a felony, and later a homicide, in the office.  Morgenthau required her to get her husband’s approval before allowing her to do so.  She then became the chief of the first sex crimes bureau in the nation, and has a hand in authoring New York’s rape shield law,

Leslie went on to become a judge, first in criminal and then as an acting Supreme and later Court of Claims.  Leslie actively sought the biggest and most gruesome cases, and had no problem making sure that her feelings about the defendants were well known and widely reported.  Because of her outspoken ways, she was profiled on CBS News Magazine, 60 Minutes.  Full disclosure:  I was on it with her, but did not have flattering things to say about her as a judge. 

Leslie lost the Democratic primary in 2005 to Robert Morgenthau by 41% to 59%.  Morgy, up to that point, had not prepared for a smooth transition by naming an heir apparent to his office, and Leslie, not getting any younger, decided that she had to buck the party and try if she was ever going to achieve her goal of becoming the first woman District Attorney of New York County.

Today, I received this bit of news:

It looks like the primary season has started, and I most assuredly will have much more to say on the subject as we go along.  But the first question I have to ask myself is whether I want to plunk $25K down to be a host committee chair.