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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wake that ass up in the morning.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
The Breakfast Club Power one O five one is the
Breakfast Club. Good Morning, of course, the EJ N VJ
Larius and Charlamagne the Guy. We got a special guest
in the building. He's running to be the first black
district attorney in Westchester County. Ladies and gentlemen, we have
William Wagstaff.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Welcome, brother, Hello, thank you, Thank you so much for
having me. I really appreciate you guys sharing this powerful
platform with me. I'm trying to do something that is
not just important for Westchester County, but I believe that
the vision that I have for this office is something
that can be replicated around the country, focusing not just
on incarceration, but focusing on the prevention of crime. There's
(00:42):
so much lip service that's talking about let's incarcerat let's
really invest in the communities, and let's deal with the
real issues.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Watching people vote for you in the election is today
today the Voteay, they go vote for you.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
It's a democratic primary. As Democrats, we have all been
talking about how we want to reform the criminal justice system.
My opponent has been in the system for thirty five years,
either as a judge, or as an Ada. So if
you're trying to re imagine a justice system, you don't
put somebody at the helm that's been a cog in
(01:16):
the wheel of injustice. You put somebody that's going to
bring a fresh perspective, where as a unique background. I've
been a civil rights attorney on the front lines for
the last decade. All of my work has been rooted
in justice, not just justice for some, justice for all.
So you take that and you pair it with a
business background. I have my MBA graduated second in my class,
(01:37):
and for them, now you have somebody that has the
administrative skills as well as the educational background. It's a
dual threat. And that's what the people of Westchester need.
The people need somebody that's lived the experience that the
defendants that are going to come before that office have experienced.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Now, people would ask, you know, how are you on crime?
You know, crime is up in all areas in New
York City, in New York and surrounding cities.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Well, actually they would say, it's down.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
It's not up.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Actually, well, statistics say is down.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Correct. I think that's Republican rhetoric that leads people to
believe that crime is up.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
I think it's what we see too. I think we
see a lot of crime outside industries. I think we
see it on public transportation. I think we see it
out there. So how would you be on crime?
Speaker 1 (02:21):
We're going to be fair. I think the problem with
the justice system has been that most prosecutors are looking
at their conviction rate. They're looking at trying to give
this veneer that they're a tough woman or a tough guy.
We're not going to incarcerate our way into a safer society.
The evidence is clear if you look at what vera
institute has done, if you look at what John Jay
(02:43):
has done. There's been millions, if not billions of dollars
spent investing the issue of criminality, and all of the
PhDs the social scientists have uniformly said the reduction in
crime and reduction in the rates of recidivism comes from
investments in the communities where crime is high, educational opportunities,
(03:06):
giving people workforce development, people that need treatment. Most of
the people that are incarcerated right now have some form
of diagnosable mental health issue. Help them give them the
treatment that they need. Politicians need to stop telling people
these lives that they're going to fix it in one term.
(03:26):
These are generational issues. It's going to take a generation
to fix them. But if you have somebody that's going
to put forth a plan and have measurable metrics that
you can say, is this person actually doing the work,
Let's actually fix the issues instead of putting a band
aid on it doing these low hanging fruit programs where
we're telling the public, oh, we have this new, great program.
(03:47):
You know that you didn't solve these individuals issues, and
you know that they're going to be back in the system.
It's not even fiscally sensible the amount of money that
you spend to incarcerate someone. For each person that you incarcerate,
if instead of paying for years of putting them in jail,
you would have paid for them to be educated and
make sure that they had the resources. This is someone
that would have almost inevitably been a fully functioning adult,
(04:10):
a taxpayer, contributing to the tax base, so it would
have been an investment instead of them being a drain
on all of the social services.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
What do you say to people that say you don't
deserve their vote because you don't have experience as a
prosecutor and you have a criminal record.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
I would say that those are the two things that
they should be most excited about. So first of all,
I started, let's just look at what I've had to
overcome to get to this point. I started law school
twenty years ago on federal house arrests. I walk into
my evidence class my second year and recognized that the
judge that sentenced me was my evidence professor. She then
(04:44):
goes on to write me letters of recommendation for my
admissions to the bar in New York and New Jersey.
Wasn't certain if there was going to be a delay
of denial in my admission to the bar, enroll in
business school to secure Plan B, graduate second in my class.
So all of the things that I've had to overcome
to get to this point, to me, is exactly what
you want in your leader. You want somebody that has
(05:05):
proven they can overcome obstacles and solve intractable problem. The
statistical probability of me being an attorney with my background
is less than three percent. The statistical probability of me
being an attorney who graduated at the top of his
business class is less than one percent. The statistical probability
of me being a viable candidate to be the first
black DA and one of the wealthiest counties in the
(05:28):
United States. I would say it's damn near impossible. But
if a person can put themselves in that position, why
would you bet against them? The prosecutor role is something
that you do if you're an ada to be the
district attorney, you're a policymaker and you're an administrator. Policymaking
doesn't require you to go to court every day. I've
done criminal defense work, so I know the criminal law,
(05:50):
and honestly, my record against the Westchester District Attorney's office
is very good, so they should probably be taking some
tips from me, and they'd learned a lot from me
when I get to the position that I hope that
I will get if the people put me there. So
I think that people need to just reshift what their
expectation is of what a district attorney is. They think
that it is somebody that's been a career prosecutor. Then
(06:12):
they've decided, Okay, now I want to run the place.
And that's the reason why the system has not changed.
You keep having people that have been a part of
the system for their entire career and expect that they're
going to push back against law enforcement, that they're going
to push back against their colleagues. It's not realistic. It's
going to take an outside if we're going to ever
get the reimagined justice system that we all deserve.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Now, if you're just joining us, we're talking to William Wagstaff.
He's running for the first he's going to be the
first black district attorney in Westchester County. Today is the
day you have to get out there and vote. So
get out there and vote. Just your a question.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
What was the first thing you would do if you
get an office? Listen? I like that because I think
that people make assumptions that they know everything that's going
on on the other side, and you have career prosecutors, investigators,
and people that have been in that office that are
doing good work. So before you go in and start
saying I'm flipping the table over there's a new sheriff
(07:07):
in town, that to me is how you lose people.
You should be on day one sitting down with everybody
in that office and going through the entire roller decks
of people that work there that provide services for that office,
and better understand and diagnose the issues before assuming that
information that you have outside as an outside, as just
a perspective, is going to be what's the best thing
(07:28):
to do. I think it's arrogant and people make that mistake.
They come in and they poke their chest out. People
don't want to listen to somebody that's not listening to them,
and I think that's a flow A lot of leaders may.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
How do you repair a lot of the police in
the community problems that's been had in Westchester for a
long time. How do we start repairing those problems?
Speaker 1 (07:48):
I think there's a couple of things. First, we need
to diversify the District Attorney's office. The office doesn't currently
reflect the community that it serves. That's one. Two. You
need to be in the community. You can't say that
you want to serve a community, but you are absent
from the community and the only time that they see
you is once a year on National Night Out. That's
(08:08):
not gonna work at the end of the day. Even
if you can't reform a municipal police department because the
DA's office doesn't specifically have that authority, what you can
do is have a relationship with the community where they
know even if this detective that's always given us a
problem presses up on us. I have confidence that that case,
(08:29):
if it's not a valid case, is not going to
be prosecuted, and they're gonna be honest and say this
office is a liar. This officer doesn't have a good search,
they didn't have probable cause. So we're not gonna squeeze
a plete deal out of you when we know we
can't meet our burden. Let's be real here. Most of
the deals are just people operating out of fear. They're
operating out of fear, ignorance, poor representation, and somebody that's
(08:52):
looking at the defendant's just another client, another paycheck, or
another opportunity to clear someone off their calendar, instead of
realizing that before they are a defendant, they're a human being.
And that's what we need to get back to. We
need to reimagine the language of humanity.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Or the election is today, William wax Daff he's running
to be the first black DA in Westchester County.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Give him the final pitch. Well, this primary today is
about contrast in choice. You have somebody that's been there,
a cognit and the wiel of injustice for thirty five
years and if you want more of the same, where
there's no police accountability, where people are not being treated
(09:33):
equitably regardless of their zip code, regardless of their race,
their religion, or their wealth, then I would encourage you
to vote for my opponent. But if you want a
reimagined justice system, and you have a candidate in me
who's shown you from their work, not just their words,
that they are on the front lines of justice and
that they have the courage that it's going to take
(09:53):
to push back. When I was representing Black Lives Matter,
that wasn't a walk in the park. When I was
representing the family of people who have been killed by
the police and they were threatening me and my family,
that wasn't a walk in the park. But I never buckled.
And it's going to take that type of courage to
implement all of the reforms that are necessary to get
us the justice system we deserve. So if you believe
(10:15):
like I believe, that justice should be for everyone, then
William Wagstaff is the logical vote and the only choice today.
Come out and vote Primary day, June twenty fifth. Let's
make history. I need your vote. Let's not wake up tomorrow.
On June twenty six and say he missed it by
twelve votes. He missed it by fifteen votes. Whatever it
(10:36):
is that you have going on, there is somebody, probably
one degree, if not two degrees of separation from you,
that has been railroaded by the justice system. There is
a small window to change. Today is the day. Get
out now, whatever you're doing, figure out how you're going
to get to your poll and vote for William Wagstaff.
It's a vote for change.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Thank you have it, well, good luck today. William Wagstaff,
ladies and gentlemen is running to be the first black
district Attorney in Chester County. So get out there and vote,
and good luck.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Brother, Thank you brother, I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
It's the Breakfast Club on Power one on five one
Homer Angie Martinez, where we use next wake.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
That ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club
Wake that ass up in the morning.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
The Breakfast Club Power one O five one is the
Breakfast Club. Good Morning, of course, the EJ N VJ
Larius and Charlamagne the Guy. We got a special guest
in the building. He's running to be the first black
district attorney in Westchester County. Ladies and gentlemen, we have
William Wagstaff.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Welcome, brother, Hello, thank you, Thank you so much for
having me. I really appreciate you guys sharing this powerful
platform with me. I'm trying to do something that is
not just important for Westchester County, but I believe that
the vision that I have for this office is something
that can be replicated around the country, focusing not just
on incarceration, but focusing on the prevention of crime. There's
(00:42):
so much lip service that's talking about let's incarcerat let's
really invest in the communities, and let's deal with the
real issues.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Watching people vote for you in the election is today
today the Voteay, they go vote for you.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
It's a democratic primary. As Democrats, we have all been
talking about how we want to reform the criminal justice system.
My opponent has been in the system for thirty five years,
either as a judge, or as an Ada. So if
you're trying to re imagine a justice system, you don't
put somebody at the helm that's been a cog in
(01:16):
the wheel of injustice. You put somebody that's going to
bring a fresh perspective, where as a unique background. I've
been a civil rights attorney on the front lines for
the last decade. All of my work has been rooted
in justice, not just justice for some, justice for all.
So you take that and you pair it with a
business background. I have my MBA graduated second in my class,
(01:37):
and for them, now you have somebody that has the
administrative skills as well as the educational background. It's a
dual threat. And that's what the people of Westchester need.
The people need somebody that's lived the experience that the
defendants that are going to come before that office have experienced.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Now, people would ask, you know, how are you on crime?
You know, crime is up in all areas in New
York City, in New York and surrounding cities.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Well, actually they would say, it's down.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
It's not up.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Actually, well, statistics say is down.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Correct. I think that's Republican rhetoric that leads people to
believe that crime is up.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
I think it's what we see too. I think we
see a lot of crime outside industries. I think we
see it on public transportation. I think we see it
out there. So how would you be on crime?
Speaker 1 (02:21):
We're going to be fair. I think the problem with
the justice system has been that most prosecutors are looking
at their conviction rate. They're looking at trying to give
this veneer that they're a tough woman or a tough guy.
We're not going to incarcerate our way into a safer society.
The evidence is clear if you look at what vera
institute has done, if you look at what John Jay
(02:43):
has done. There's been millions, if not billions of dollars
spent investing the issue of criminality, and all of the
PhDs the social scientists have uniformly said the reduction in
crime and reduction in the rates of recidivism comes from
investments in the communities where crime is high, educational opportunities,
(03:06):
giving people workforce development, people that need treatment. Most of
the people that are incarcerated right now have some form
of diagnosable mental health issue. Help them give them the
treatment that they need. Politicians need to stop telling people
these lives that they're going to fix it in one term.
(03:26):
These are generational issues. It's going to take a generation
to fix them. But if you have somebody that's going
to put forth a plan and have measurable metrics that
you can say, is this person actually doing the work,
Let's actually fix the issues instead of putting a band
aid on it doing these low hanging fruit programs where
we're telling the public, oh, we have this new, great program.
(03:47):
You know that you didn't solve these individuals issues, and
you know that they're going to be back in the system.
It's not even fiscally sensible the amount of money that
you spend to incarcerate someone. For each person that you incarcerate,
if instead of paying for years of putting them in jail,
you would have paid for them to be educated and
make sure that they had the resources. This is someone
that would have almost inevitably been a fully functioning adult,
(04:10):
a taxpayer, contributing to the tax base, so it would
have been an investment instead of them being a drain
on all of the social services.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
What do you say to people that say you don't
deserve their vote because you don't have experience as a
prosecutor and you have a criminal record.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
I would say that those are the two things that
they should be most excited about. So first of all,
I started, let's just look at what I've had to
overcome to get to this point. I started law school
twenty years ago on federal house arrests. I walk into
my evidence class my second year and recognized that the
judge that sentenced me was my evidence professor. She then
(04:44):
goes on to write me letters of recommendation for my
admissions to the bar in New York and New Jersey.
Wasn't certain if there was going to be a delay
of denial in my admission to the bar, enroll in
business school to secure Plan B, graduate second in my class.
So all of the things that I've had to overcome
to get to this point, to me, is exactly what
you want in your leader. You want somebody that has
(05:05):
proven they can overcome obstacles and solve intractable problem. The
statistical probability of me being an attorney with my background
is less than three percent. The statistical probability of me
being an attorney who graduated at the top of his
business class is less than one percent. The statistical probability
of me being a viable candidate to be the first
black DA and one of the wealthiest counties in the
(05:28):
United States. I would say it's damn near impossible. But
if a person can put themselves in that position, why
would you bet against them? The prosecutor role is something
that you do if you're an ada to be the
district attorney, you're a policymaker and you're an administrator. Policymaking
doesn't require you to go to court every day. I've
done criminal defense work, so I know the criminal law,
(05:50):
and honestly, my record against the Westchester District Attorney's office
is very good, so they should probably be taking some
tips from me, and they'd learned a lot from me
when I get to the position that I hope that
I will get if the people put me there. So
I think that people need to just reshift what their
expectation is of what a district attorney is. They think
that it is somebody that's been a career prosecutor. Then
(06:12):
they've decided, Okay, now I want to run the place.
And that's the reason why the system has not changed.
You keep having people that have been a part of
the system for their entire career and expect that they're
going to push back against law enforcement, that they're going
to push back against their colleagues. It's not realistic. It's
going to take an outside if we're going to ever
get the reimagined justice system that we all deserve.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Now, if you're just joining us, we're talking to William Wagstaff.
He's running for the first he's going to be the
first black district attorney in Westchester County. Today is the
day you have to get out there and vote. So
get out there and vote. Just your a question.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
What was the first thing you would do if you
get an office? Listen? I like that because I think
that people make assumptions that they know everything that's going
on on the other side, and you have career prosecutors, investigators,
and people that have been in that office that are
doing good work. So before you go in and start
saying I'm flipping the table over there's a new sheriff
(07:07):
in town, that to me is how you lose people.
You should be on day one sitting down with everybody
in that office and going through the entire roller decks
of people that work there that provide services for that office,
and better understand and diagnose the issues before assuming that
information that you have outside as an outside, as just
a perspective, is going to be what's the best thing
(07:28):
to do. I think it's arrogant and people make that mistake.
They come in and they poke their chest out. People
don't want to listen to somebody that's not listening to them,
and I think that's a flow A lot of leaders may.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
How do you repair a lot of the police in
the community problems that's been had in Westchester for a
long time. How do we start repairing those problems?
Speaker 1 (07:48):
I think there's a couple of things. First, we need
to diversify the District Attorney's office. The office doesn't currently
reflect the community that it serves. That's one. Two. You
need to be in the community. You can't say that
you want to serve a community, but you are absent
from the community and the only time that they see
you is once a year on National Night Out. That's
(08:08):
not gonna work at the end of the day. Even
if you can't reform a municipal police department because the
DA's office doesn't specifically have that authority, what you can
do is have a relationship with the community where they
know even if this detective that's always given us a
problem presses up on us. I have confidence that that case,
(08:29):
if it's not a valid case, is not going to
be prosecuted, and they're gonna be honest and say this
office is a liar. This officer doesn't have a good search,
they didn't have probable cause. So we're not gonna squeeze
a plete deal out of you when we know we
can't meet our burden. Let's be real here. Most of
the deals are just people operating out of fear. They're
operating out of fear, ignorance, poor representation, and somebody that's
(08:52):
looking at the defendant's just another client, another paycheck, or
another opportunity to clear someone off their calendar, instead of
realizing that before they are a defendant, they're a human being.
And that's what we need to get back to. We
need to reimagine the language of humanity.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Or the election is today, William wax Daff he's running
to be the first black DA in Westchester County.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Give him the final pitch. Well, this primary today is
about contrast in choice. You have somebody that's been there,
a cognit and the wiel of injustice for thirty five
years and if you want more of the same, where
there's no police accountability, where people are not being treated
(09:33):
equitably regardless of their zip code, regardless of their race,
their religion, or their wealth, then I would encourage you
to vote for my opponent. But if you want a
reimagined justice system, and you have a candidate in me
who's shown you from their work, not just their words,
that they are on the front lines of justice and
that they have the courage that it's going to take
(09:53):
to push back. When I was representing Black Lives Matter,
that wasn't a walk in the park. When I was
representing the family of people who have been killed by
the police and they were threatening me and my family,
that wasn't a walk in the park. But I never buckled.
And it's going to take that type of courage to
implement all of the reforms that are necessary to get
us the justice system we deserve. So if you believe
(10:15):
like I believe, that justice should be for everyone, then
William Wagstaff is the logical vote and the only choice today.
Come out and vote Primary day, June twenty fifth. Let's
make history. I need your vote. Let's not wake up tomorrow.
On June twenty six and say he missed it by
twelve votes. He missed it by fifteen votes. Whatever it
(10:36):
is that you have going on, there is somebody, probably
one degree, if not two degrees of separation from you,
that has been railroaded by the justice system. There is
a small window to change. Today is the day. Get
out now, whatever you're doing, figure out how you're going
to get to your poll and vote for William Wagstaff.
It's a vote for change.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Thank you have it, well, good luck today. William Wagstaff,
ladies and gentlemen is running to be the first black
district Attorney in Chester County. So get out there and vote,
and good luck.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Brother, Thank you brother, I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
It's the Breakfast Club on Power one on five one
Homer Angie Martinez, where we use next wake.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
That ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club
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Charlamagne Tha God
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