Albany County District Attorney David Soares says he will give back a salary bonus he gave himself from a state grant — which has led to calls for his resignation.
The 11 percent raise Soares cut for himself was funded by a state grant, as first reported by the Times Union and WRGB last week. A video released by his office Monday shows the fifth-term Democrat next to his wife and two young children:
"The bonus that I received, the bonus that I received, continues to dominate the conversation every single day, taking away from the incredible hard work of the men and women in the Albany County District Attorney's Office, taking away from the hard work of the men and women in the various police departments that we work together with," Soares said. "I'd like to change the conversation. And in order to do that, I need to return that money. I need to work with our Albany County Legislature to return those funds, and seek to redistribute those funds to the men and women in the Albany County District Attorney's office..."
County Comptroller Sue Rizzo, whose office launched the investigation into Soares' bonus, says his returning the money doesn't stop the probe. "I still need to look at longevity, as well as the permissibility of the grant as to who got the grant funds," Rizzo said. "So the investigation will continue. And I'm still reviewing the information that I'm gathering. I do agree with DA Soares' position on bail reform. I do agree, the DA has done a good job. I think you still have to abide by the law. His salary should not be any more than the county judge and I think that is defined. And when I asked the question initially about his salary being greater than $202,800, he indicated that that amount was a floor, not a ceiling. So then therefore the investigation had to start."
In the video, Soares acknowledged the situation has created a distraction for his office.
"I cannot be the distraction for the wonderful organization that I lead. And I cannot be the distraction from the conversations that are essential that need to take place right now," Soares said.
Albany County Legislator Mark Grimm of the 28th district is ranking Republican on the finance committee. He says returning the money is "a positive development" but urges Soares to heed the county legislature’s law and audit & finance committees request that he attend a February 28th joint hearing on the matter.
"I just think that I think the meeting, it's a good idea," Grimm said. "And because we should be able to talk directly. Right now we're getting a lot of in house videotape messages. We should be able to question the DA directly and he should have an opportunity to respond directly. So I think that would be positive if we had the meeting and Mr. Soares showed up."
Ryan Horstmyer chairs the Colonie Democratic Committee and is planning to attend tonight's meeting of the Albany County Democratic Committee.
"My understanding is tonight will be delaying consideration of this race and taking some time to consider other candidates. And I think that's appropriate. I've paid close attention to everything, as a district attorney has said and the explanations he's given. And I've seen the most recent one from last evening, the video where he announced you would be returning the funds. But I still think it's time to move on and look for new leadership," Horstmyer said.
Albany County Democratic Committee Chair Jake Crawford tells WAMC he is not yet publicly disclosing the names of any possible candidates who might challenge Soares for the party endorsement ahead of this year’s election.
