The New York Legislature on Tuesday followed the advice of editorial boards and good government groups by appointing the interim attorney general Barbara Underwood to remain in office until the end of the year. Since she is declining to run for office this fall, the choice means no attorney general candidate running in November's election will have the advantage of incumbency.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced that 190 lawmakers voted for Underwood out of the 213-seat joint session of the Democrat-controlled Assembly and Republican-led Senate. Under state law, the full Legislature is required to vote on the attorney general's replacement should the job become vacant.
Her predecessor, Eric Schneiderman, officially resigned two weeks ago after The New Yorker magazine reported he physically and verbally abused four women he had dated. He has denied the allegations.
Underwood, the state's solicitor general, was the front-runner among 12 prospective candidates hoping to serve out Schneiderman's second term through Dec. 31. Other big names, such as New York City Public Advocate Letitia James took their names out of the running after newspaper editorial boards and good government groups began pressuring the legislature not to give any candidate a leg up in this fall's election. The last time Albany filled a vacancy in a statewide position, it chose an insider who ended up easily getting elected for a four-year term: State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.
Underwood, a Democrat who has worked in the attorney general's office since 2007, said during her May 14 interview that she doesn't intend to run for the job this November, something she repeated Tuesday.
"I told the legislators that I was not seeking elected office nor will I participate in the election process," Underwood told reporters after spending 15 minutes having her photograph taken with well-wishers in the Assembly chamber.
Underwood, 73, moved up to acting attorney general when Schneiderman's resignation became official at the end of business on May 8. She is the first woman to serve as New York's attorney general, a position that dates back to the British colonial era.
There are plenty of other Democrats interested in seeking a four-year term as attorney general. In addition to the other 11 applicants interviewed last week, the candidates include New York City Public Advocate Letitia James, U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of the Hudson Valley, and Leecia Eve, a former adviser to fellow Democrats Hillary Clinton and Cuomo, who endorsed James' campaign Tuesday.
Democrats will nominate their candidate for attorney general at this week's state convention on Long Island.
