Nov 4, 2009 6:08 am US/Eastern
Vance To Replace Morgenthau As Manhattan's New DA
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Cyrus Vance Jr. will be the next Manhattan district attorney.
CBS
For the first time in nearly four decades, Manhattan will have a new district attorney.
Now that 90-year-old Robert Morgenthau is retiring the man he chose to succeed him, Cyrus Vance Jr., has earned the right to be the next DA.
On Tuesday night Vance easily beat out Richard Aborn – 91 percent to 9 percent.
Now he's got some massive shoes to fill.
For 35 years -- 35 years -- Morgenthau has been the Manhattan D.A. Tuesday night was both a passing of the torch and a last hurrah.
CBS 2 HD caught up with Morgenthau as he cast his ballot Tuesday morning. He was almost embarrassed that our camera followed his every move, caught well-wishers shaking his hand. The Manhattan D.A.'s office is like no other, with so many high-profile cases, top law school graduates beg to get in. We asked him about the legacy he leaves behind for Vance Jr. and, as always, he deflected the attention away from himself:
When told many in the media refer to his tenure as "the Morgenthau era," he said, "Well, I don't know about that. I don't know; I had a great staff. That was the important thing. You pick good people, on merit. No politics involved. And then you let 'em do their job."
Cyrus Vance Jr. is the son of Cyrus Vance, a former secretary of state. He was an assistant district attorney under Morgenthau from 1982-1988.
"I intend to be a strong advocate for public safety, as district attorney. I've spent my entire career working on criminal justice issues, and I'm ready for that challenge," Vance Jr. said.
The standards Morgenthau set not only in Manhattan, but for every D.A. in the country, are the stuff of Mount Olympus. He will stay in office through the end of the year.
And then every move by Cyrus Vance Jr. will be scrutinized -- closely.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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