Tish James doesn’t want to fight crime, just chase headlines and her vendettas

A Bronx mom grieving the senseless murder of her 12-year-old boy just ripped the mask off State Attorney General Tish James, who puts primping and preening for the national spotlight ahead of serving the regular people of New York.

Migdalia Martinez slammed the AG for doing nothing about soaring crime as she endorsed challenger Saritha Komatireddy.

That highlights the stark contrast between two candidates: A political hack who helped destroy law enforcement in New York against a smart, serious prosecutor who has sent major drug traffickers and terrorists to prison.

Felony assault in New York City is up a staggering 44% since James took office in 2019, and the scene underground is even more grisly, with a 59% rise in subway felony assault.

Tish James and her flacks say her office doesn’t focus on “local crime,” but that’s a dodge.

As first Eliot Spitzer and then Andrew Cuomo showed when they held the job, New York’s attorney general has enormous power and authority — if she cares to use it.

Tish James obviously doesn’t.

An AG can find ways to take on local crime, e.g. by stepping up against cross-county crews — which in New York City simply means operating in more than one borough — or when local prosecutors are otherwise overwhelmed or conspicuously incompetent.

But Tish James has no desire to put in that extra work.

After all, she’s spent her 25 years in elected office pushing to dismantle the machinery of public safety.

She backed the decriminalization of “minor” criminal offenses, “Raise the Age” legislation, “no-cash-bail” and discovery reform, the “Right to Know” and “How Many Stops” acts, closing Rikers, the “chokehold” ban and pot legalization.

Her top public-safety priority? To end traffic stops for minor violations, because they “often end in violence,” she frets . . . not mentioning that that’s only when the perp flees.

James falls down in other areas: The office is supposed to keep nonprofits honest and fight fraud in Medicaid and other public programs; she can’t be bothered, as she has other fish to fry.

Komatireddy is a seasoned prosecutor (with solid service under Democrats as well as Republicans) who knows that fighting crime is actually the top cop’s job No. 1; the more New Yorkers learn of her, the more they’ll see she’s far better for the AG job.

If you care about law enforcement in this state, tell everyone you know to check out Saritha Komatireddy; the choice will be obvious.