GOING UP

Irish flag raised in Rome ceremony

Private attorney and Lewis County conflict defender Jeffery G. Tompkins has announced his candidacy for Lewis County district attorney.

Tompkins will run against incumbent Leanne Moser, a Democrat, who announced her reelection bid in January. Moser is seeking a fifth term as the county’s top prosecutor.

Tompkins, a Republican, is a member of the McClusky Law Firm in Lowville, and for the past five years has served as the Lewis County Conflict Defender. Officials said that when the public defender in Lewis County has a conflict and cannot take a case, Tompkins is the go-to attorney to represent indigent clients in Family Court and in some criminal courts. He is also appellate counsel for the Oswego County Department of Social Services, and he is general counsel to the Rome Housing Authority.

“The position of district attorney is more than just securing criminal convictions. It’s doing what is best for the residents of the county overall, always taking into consideration first and foremost the needs and concerns of the victims of crime,” Tompkins said in his announcement.

“As a lifelong resident of the Tug Hill region, I know the values of the people of Lewis County, because those are my values too. … It’s a place where common sense prevails, and where many of the concerns of those in New York City and Albany seem distant and detached.”

Tompkins said two major issues he’ll tackle as district attorney are seeking alternatives to Drug Court so that more people can receive help, and working with legislators for meaningful change to bail reform.

Tompkins graduated SUNY Morrisville in 1983, Utica College in 1989 with a degree in business administration, and then he graduated Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 1992. He lives in Camden with his wife and two teenage children.