DA Tierney can and should forgo PBA dollars

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney has said he’s returning thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from several police unions. But before committing himself to shun such donations in the future, he says he wants to determine whether it’s legal and ethical to accept them.

“There's the issue of whether or not I can do it. And I don't think that issue has been, at least in my mind, satisfactorily decided,” he told Newsday. “And then there's the second issue — even if I can [accept the money], will I?”

Tierney need not make this complicated.

So far, in his second year as DA, he clearly knows he should keep the office’s operations separate from partisan political machinations. If Tierney is concerned it looks like a conflict to take money from groups such as the powerful Suffolk Police Benevolent Association — and it does — he can simply say, “No thanks.”

Nearly two years ago, he won on the Republican line, unseating predecessor Tim Sini, who had the unions’ backing. Police unions in Suffolk have long been throwing their weight around on their members’ employment contracts, matters of internal discipline, procedural reforms, and even the promotion of high-level personnel. Their ability to fund campaigns with wads of members' cash is part of the clout.

The question right now isn’t whether Tierney can take the contributions but how much he wants them. The Suffolk County Board of Ethics in February 2022 said donations from the PBA and its PAC were "inherently problematic.” Last month, the board rescinded that advice after the PBA challenged it.

Displaying independence from powerful police organizations becomes an especially good idea for any DA in an age when the public at large — certainly in Suffolk — wants instances of law-enforcement misconduct curbed. The point is even clearer for those occasions when a DA must investigate wrongdoing within the ranks of police or jail officers.

At election time, the Suffolk PBA shows a very highhanded way of doing business. Last month, the union agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a complaint that its political action committee interfered with the reelection campaign of the union’s nemesis, Republican Legis. Rob Trotta.

Still, trying to bar such contributions outright would invite a separate, more complicated discussion. Would those organizations be kept from funding the major political parties that run opposing candidates for DA? Would, say, private lawyers or others with a different stake in a DA office’s operations be allowed to contribute?

Strong incumbents come into reelection races with other advantages. Since Tierney has publicly posed the question of his accepting PBA funding, we offer a frank answer: Just say no.