Lawmakers Seek Applications For NY's Next Attorney General

NEW YORK, NY — New York State lawmakers are taking applications for a new attorney general — but they may already have someone in mind for the job. A committee of legislators from the state Assembly and Senate will interview candidates next week as they seek a replacement for former AG Eric Schneiderman, who resigned Tuesday amid allegations that he physically and psychologically abused four women.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) put out a call for résumés Wednesday as a first step in the process to appoint a new top prosecutor. State law empowers the Senate and Assembly to fill the seat in a joint legislative session.

"This process would allow us the opportunity to recommend or select a well-qualified replacement, so that public uncertainty regarding who fills this important office will be resolved as soon as reasonably practical," Heastie wrote in a Wednesday letter to fellow lawmakers.

The process won't include the Senate's Republican majority, whose members have declined to participate, Heastie wrote. But Assembly Democrats would hold nearly half the votes in a joint session on their own.

Applications are due to Heastie's legislative counsel by 5 p.m. Friday ahead of interviews planned for next Tuesday and Wednesday.

Heastie's office said Acting Attorney General Barbara Underwood, Schneiderman's immediate successor, has been invited to participate.

But Assembly Democrats reportedly already have a pick lined up: Public Advocate Letitia James.

The New York Post reported Wednesday that James, a Democrat from Brooklyn, has enough votes to win the Legislature's appointment. In exchange she'd back Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. to replace her as public advocate, according to the Post.

James has been floated as a potential replacement for Schneiderman since he stepped down. In her first public statement about the issue Wednesday, she said she's weighing her options as the process plays out in Albany.

"I am honored by the encouragement and support I have received and am considering the best ways to continue serving New York," James said. "I remain moved by the tremendous courage and bravery that the survivors who came forward demonstrated, and am reminded that women's voices are needed more than ever at the highest levels of government and in every corner of our society."

Even if she's appointed, James would still face what's likely to be a crowded Democratic primary in September and a general election in November.

(Lead image: Photo from Shutterstock)