ONTARIO COUNTY, N.Y. — A primary election shakeup could mean change in the Ontario County District Attorney’s Office. Challenger Jason MacBride came out on top by only 103 votes during the republican primary, but incumbent Jim Ritts thinks he’ll be fine come November’s general election.
RELATED: Challenger Jason MacBride defeats incumbent Jim Ritts in close Ontario County District Attorney primary
One-on-one with MacBride
I sat down one-on-one with Macbride on Wednesday about his campaign going forward.
Jim Ritts also sent me a statement, that says in part he owes it to the citizens of the community to keep running, and he feels if more people turn out for the general election, he’ll win.
Macbride and I spoke about his plans leading up to November and what changes the county could see. I had to ask if he thinks the controversy around Ritt’s courthouse after party last year helped him secure the win.
RELATED: News10NBC Investigates: Report: Alcohol brought into courtroom, jury room during Ontario County DA’s office party
“No question. You know, the courthouse is… is a sacred place,” said Macbride. “It’s where victims bare their souls. It’s where suspects are. Their life is on the line. And it’s also, not only the party, but the bigger issue is, is that when confronted with those, facts, you know, Mr. Ritts lied about it. He lied about it to a judge. He lied about it to the human resources investigator. So the party is one thing, but prosecutors are always taught to always tell the truth, to always do the right thing. And certainly misleading a judge and misleading an investigator is exactly what the public does not want.”
Ritts’ Response
So, I went to Ritts and asked for his response to MacBride’s claims. Ritts told me he never lied to anyone, saying in part:
“I did not know members of Jason Macbride’s campaign who were employed in my office brought alcohol into the courtroom when I spoke to HR or when I spoke to the supervising judge.”
Ritts went on to say Macbride’s whole campaign is based upon lies. Here is his full statement, sent to me on Wednesday afternoon:
“Jason MacBride has consistently said I lied about alcohol during fall fest. I never lied to anyone. I did not know that members of Jason MacBride’s campaign who were employed in my office brought alcohol into the courtroom when I spoke to HR or when I spoke to the supervising Judge. I find it ironic and entirely disingenuous for MacBride who has consistently lied to the Voters of Ontario County to comment on my integrity. Mr. MacBride’s entire campaign is based upon lies. Mine has been and always will be based on FACTS.
I will point out that MacBride had no problem participating in events within the Courtroom while he worked as an Assistant District Attorney. But this is something we will delve into more in coming weeks.”
Kristi Blake, News10NBC: “Ritts released a statement saying in part, quote, ‘We cannot compromise public safety and endanger our community by electing Jason MacBride. He would be a public safety disaster for our community.’ End quote. How do you react to that?”
Jason MacBride: “That’s… that’s laughable. For 21 years, I’ve dedicated my career to keeping our community safe. Again, I’ve dedicated my life to putting bad people in jail and serving our victims.”
What’s next for Ontario County?
It took a week before the final votes were tallied. The Ontario County Board of Elections waited for the last mail in and absentee ballots to trickle in.
Kristi Blake: “What was going through your mind when you realized you had won the primary?”
MacBride: “Well, definitely honored and very proud to be a part of Ontario County… speaks very highly for our family and supporters that really got out and and pushed us across the line for victory. It was a was a great day.”
MacBride tells me if he wins in November, he’d prioritize training younger staff, restoring the DWI program, and mending relationships.
“It’s creating that culture of respect, training our younger staff,” said MacBride. “There’s zero training right now. It’s restoring our stop DWI program, which has two dedicated prosecutors handling all of our DWI cases. It’s getting back out into court on a personal basis, not calling in over the phone, but getting out into every court, whether it’s at 7:30 in the morning or 8 at night, our office will be out there. And it’s about restoring relationships that have been broken, whether it’s with law enforcement, the court system or defense bar. I can’t tell you how much support we’ve gotten from all of those folks. They just want a return to civility.”
Will any of this affect the Sam Nordquist case?
The Ontario County District Attorney’s Office is currently handling a massive murder and torture case, that has gathered attention from across the nation.
Seven defendants have been in and out of the court room for months, charged in various ways for their suspected involvement in the torture and murder of Sam Nordquist, a transgender man from Minnesota.
RELATED: Indictment: Seven people charged with first-degree murder in torture of Sam Nordquist; Children forced to take part
MacBride told me if he takes over, he’s confident that case will not be impacted.
“Won’t be impacted at all. We’ve already thought about that, and we’ve got some staff in place that are more than capable of handling that,” explained MacBride. “It’s about having the right leadership to make sure that we’re putting those prosecutors in a spot where they can be successfully able to prosecute those defendants. Public should have zero concern about that, or I’ve handled many of trials of that nature. And, we’ll be ready to go. You know, expect any delays, anything more than just the general what happens in court? That’s right. No delays.”
Those defendants are due back in court in September.
Ontario County DA race heats up: Challenger narrowly wins primary, incumbent vows to fight on WHEC.com.
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