Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton Urges Westchester Voters to “Make it Happen” for Mimi Rocah for Westchester DA.

***PRESS RELEASE***
 

Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton Urges Westchester Voters to “Make it Happen” for Mimi Rocah for Westchester DA.  
 

During virtual campaign rally hosted by Rosie O’Donnell, Clinton comes out strong, urging hundreds of virtual attendees to help elect Rocah.

Secretary Clinton: “We have a lot of work to do... Call your friends. Email your friends. Zoom with your friends. Tell everybody to get out and vote for Mimi!”

 

WESTCHESTER, NY - During a virtual campaign event for former prosecutor Mimi Rocah, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made an appearance Friday night to rally support for the Democratic challenger in the June 23rd NY primary for Westchester District Attorney.

“I’m thrilled at the chance to lend my voice to all those who are supporting Mimi in this race,” said Clinton, who is a Westchester resident. She highlighted Rocah’s tenured experience as a former federal prosecutor with the Southern District of NY under President Obama and added, “If you’re looking for somebody who has good ideas to fix our criminal justice system to make it fair, equitable, efficient and productive...and if you’re looking for somebody...who will stand up and speak truth to power then you're in the right place.”

Secretary Clinton emphasized the importance of voting by absentee mail-in ballot and ended with thanking Rocah for running during the pandemic. "We have a lot of work to do to make sure she gets her message out. If you’ve contributed, contribute some more. Call your friends. Email your friends. Zoom with your friends. Tell everybody to get out and vote for Mimi. Let’s make it happen.” (view full clip here)

“Secretary Clinton is a true inspiration to me, and I’m so honored to have her support as I run for Westchester District Attorney. The Trump Administration has harmed our community — and it is up to local leaders to push back and help repair the damage it has caused. As District Attorney, I will stand up to the NRA to address gun violence; I will stand strong against hate crimes; I will defend women, workers, immigrants and every county resident to keep our families safe and restore trust in our institutions,” said Rocah. 

The virtual event was also hosted by Eleanor’s Legacy, the group that supports and provides resources for NY women running for office, Westchester-based activist group Progressive Women of Pelham and Vote Mama, the national political action committee founded by Liuba Grechen Shirley that backs Democratic mothers running for office. Shirley made an appearance holding her 4-week-old infant while rallying supporters to join Vote Mama in volunteering to help elect Rocah. “We need to have more moms in office. We need more women, we need moms as DAs, as prosecutors. It’s so important because those voices are missing at the table,” said Shirley.

The program concluded with O’Donnell and Rocah fielding questions from participants including one from 12-year-old Eleanor, who sat next to her mother on the Zoom, as did Rocah’s kids, ages 10 and 11.

Clinton’s resounding support of Rocah came on the heels of the endorsement from 1199SEIU, the country’s largest healthcare union and largest union in New York State, representing more than 450,000 healthcare workers, whose members will help Rocah’s voter outreach efforts. Additionally, Westchester County Legislators Alfreda Williams and Damon Maher announced their endorsements this week alongside Bedford and Cortlandt Democratic Committees, whose District Leaders overwhelmingly voted to endorse Rocah over the incumbent. In total, Rocah now has ten party committees backing her, more than her opponent, indicating a growing coalition of party leadership standing with Rocah to unseat incumbent Tony Scarpino.

Rocah, a political newcomer, stunned the Democratic establishment in January when she came within two percentage points of getting the party nomination. Since then, her campaign’s momentum has surged with a volunteer base of more than 100 grassroots activists, community and civic leaders, and endorsements from the Working Families Party, Eleanor’s Legacy, Vote Mama, the Hispanic Democrats of Westchester, the Hudson Valley Stonewall Democrats, NY State Senator Alessandra Biaggi, Mount Vernon City Council President Lisa Copeland, Mount Vernon City Councilmembers Derrick Thompson and Delia Farquharson, Mount Vernon Public Library Trustee Cathlin Gleason, Yonkers City Council Members Tasha Diaz and Shanae Williams, feminist icon Gloria Steinem and former US Attorney Preet Bharara.

Rocah was Chief of the Westchester office for the Department of Justice for five years before she was Pace University School of Law's Distinguished Fellow in Criminal Justice and a legal analyst for MSNBC and NBC News, where she emerged as an outspoken critic of the Trump Administration and the president’s efforts to undermine the rule of law. 

Having a close family member who had been a victim of violent crimes, Rocah has developed victim-centered, trauma-informed policies as someone who knows both sides of the justice system. As part of her campaign platform, she has released detailed plans to get guns off our streets, aggressively address the human trafficking and opioid crises, increase transparency, create a real Conviction Integrity Unit, transform sex crimes prosecutions, investigate environmental crimes, and overhaul ethics reforms in the DA’s office. This week, she released a workers’ rights policy that outlined plans for a Labor Crimes Bureau to address wage theft and workplace safety.

As a prosecutor, Rocah received numerous Department of Justice awards including the 2016 Women In Federal Law Enforcement Leadership Award. A resident of Scarsdale, she has served as a school safety chair at her children's elementary school, volunteered with Moms Demand Action on gun safety advocacy and worked with My Sister's Place on issues involving domestic violence, human trafficking and online child predators. 

  

www.MimiRocahforDA.com