Since 1975, Robert Morgenthau has been District Attorney of New York County.  A relic of the age of Patricians, when a family first earned its fortune and then served the public as a duty incumbent upon the upper class, Morgenthau is the last of his breed.  Lest anyone think this is a bad thing, Morgenthau’s tenure has been one of enormous integrity, professionalism and service in the truest sense of the word.  Not perfect, but possibly the best district attorney’s office there has ever been.

But Morgy, now 89 years of age, has decided that his day is done. 

“Some people are slow learners and it took me a long time to realize I was getting older,” Morgenthau said jokingly at a packed news conference. “I decided I wouldn’t push my luck any further and quit while I was ahead.”

Within hours of the announcement, I received an email from Campaign Snyder thanking Morgenthau for his years of service, and reminding him not to let the door hit him on the way out.  Leslie Crocker Snyder wants his job.  She tried for it last election in 2005, and lost.  Has her day come?

According to Newsday, this is the list of contenders:

Former Judge Leslie Crocker Snyder, who lost to him in 2005, appears to be a front-runner. Other challengers include Cyrus Vance Jr., a prosecutor under Morgenthau and the son of former President Jimmy Carter’s secretary of state; Richard Aborn, president of the Citizens Crime Commission; and Dan Castelman, Morgenthau’s right-hand man but perhaps better known for his cameo role in “The Sopranos.”

The latest word is that Cy Vance, Jr., a former ADA under Morgenthau, will be named heir apparent.  Not surprisingly, Vance is the new-breed Patrician, with a pedigree similar to Morgenthau’s to the extent such can still exist.  He had the smarts not to challenge Morgy, but rather to wait in the wings, showing proper deference to a legend, until the legend decided that it was time to leave.

Snyder, on the other hand, chose not to wait.  She left her seat on the bench, where she spent a quarter century proving that she had what it took to be a prosecutor, to go directly at Morgenthau.  She wasn’t getting any younger, and he wasn’t going anywhere.  Leslie decided that it was time to take her destiny into her own hands and seize the job that she had hoped would be handed her.

The problem with this tactic is that Leslie Snyder made some very real enemies along the campaign trail.  Staring down Morgenthau was a bold move, but one that offended current and former prosecutors throughout New York.  It wasn’t that everyone wasn’t aware that Morgy had overstayed, but that one doesn’t challenge a legend.  Leslie did, and paid for her hubris.

But now that Robert Morgenthau has taken his name out of play, will the hostility toward Leslie Snyder’s attempted coup abate, or will she be forever branded a traitor?  Better still, will Morgenthau have the clout to name his successor, or is the field wide open?  According to Black Star News, Morgy is walking Cy Vance around:

Opting against his promised “90 in ’09” run, longtime Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau has decided not to seek re-election this fall, City Hall has learned, and was sighted introducing Cyrus Vance to key players in the Chinatown community at a recent Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association dinner. Vance has long been talked about as his preferred successor.

The nature of an election for District Attorney, where there just isn’t much to claim in order to promote one candidate over another, lends itself to two potential variables.  Experience and endorsements.  Leslie certainly has the campaign apparatus in place from 2005 (it was never dismantled, not even for a moment) and had hit the ground running even before Morgy’s announcement.  Whether Vance can crank it up, aside from the connections that Morgy can offer, has yet to be seen.