Rice, Watson go head to head for D.A.

The race for Nassau County district attorney pits one-term Democratic incumbent Kathleen Rice, a former federal prosecutor and Brooklyn assistant district attorney, against Republican Joy Watson, a former assistant Nassau County district attorney who is now a law clerk for a county Supreme Court justice.

Rice, who has gained a national reputation nationwide for her tough stance against drunken driving, says she is about more than convicting criminals. Her office is proactive in educating the public, in particular young people, about the dangers of DWI and drug use. At the same time, she has lobbied in a bipartisan way with lawmakers like state Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr., a Republican from Merrick, to upgrade penalties for DWI, including second-degree murder charges.

Watson, who served as chief of the D.A.’s Sex Crimes and Domestic Violence Bureau under former District Attorney Denis Dillon, said that she had dedicated her career to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office. She started out prosecuting DWI cases before moving to the Major Offense and Homicide Bureau and eventually to the sex-crimes division. In all, she spent 20 years in the office under Dillon, who served as the D.A. for 31 years before losing to Rice in 2005 in a tight race. Watson left the D.A.’s office after Rice took office.

Watson said that she handled the most serious and sensitive cases during her tenure in the office, and she continued to try cases even when named chief of the sex-crimes bureau. “I’m a very goal-oriented person,” she said.

Watson added that she believes the district attorney has taken a “soft approach” to crime, with criminals moving to the “head of the line” for social services and job training. “Give the services to the people who need [them],” Watson said.

Rice said her conviction numbers speak for themselves. During her tenure as D.A., she said, the felony trial conviction rate has risen 8 percent, and the conviction rate on top-count indictments has gone up 19 percent. “These are real numbers,” she said. “It shows the changes I made are working.”