Independence Party nominates Speonk lawyer for attorney general

Southampton attorney Stephen J. Lynch has jumped into the race to succeed Andrew Cuomo as New York’s attorney general.

Mr. Lynch, 59, who is chairman of the Southampton Independence Party, clinched the Independence nomination at the party’s convention on Saturday in Colonie in Albany County. A former Southampton Town Republican Party committeeman, he will face Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan, who is the Republican nominee, plus the eventual winner of the five-way Democratic race to be that party’s candidate.

“Steve is an excellent attorney. He has a full understanding of different aspects of the law,” Frank MacKay, chairman of the Independence Party at the national, state and county levels, said this week. “At the same time, we’re not delusional. We know it’s an uphill battle. But keep in mind that third-party candidates can often shape the debate.”

Mr. Lynch, who works in Southampton and lives in Speonk, was appointed chairman of the Southampton Independence Party by Mr. MacKay last fall. He ran unsuccessfully for Southampton Town justice on the Independence line last November.

A Nassau County native who has lived in Suffolk County for more than 30 years, Mr. Lynch earned his law degree at St. John’s University School of Law, his bachelor’s degree from Fordham University, and his high school diploma from Chaminade High School in Mineola. He worked in private practice for approximately 16 years and as a court attorney for a judge for another 16 years. He currently works as a law clerk for a State Supreme Court justice and is a past director of the New York State School Attorneys Association’s board of directors.

A longtime member of the New York and Florida bars, Mr. Lynch said he has gained considerable experience in education, municipal, appellate, and labor and employment law during his years working as a lawyer.

“At the convention, our chairman, Frank MacKay, introduced me as a longshot, and it’s true that I am not a lifelong candidate,” he said this week. “But I’m not a stranger to politics. I’m the leader of the Southampton Independence Party, and I’m eager and very positive about the campaign that lies ahead.”

Mr. Lynch also offered a glimpse at his reasons for wanting to be the next attorney general.

“In order for society to function, there has to be respect for the laws that bind us all,” the candidate said this week. “Time and again we have seen egregious examples of individuals and companies which act as if they are not subject to the law, and it is in such circumstances when arrogance or greed or another ill motive is operative that the population generally suffers, and it’s the role of the state’s chief law enforcement officer to guard the citizens against such conduct.”