Two Westchester County Republicans will run for their party’s nomination in a Sept. 13 primary before the winner goes on to face Democratic nominee Anthony Scarpino for the county’s district attorney seat.
Bruce Bendish, 69, the candidate who is being backed by the county Republican Party will face Mitch Benson, 56, in a primary as a result of Benson securing enough petition signatures for the county’s top prosecutor seat.
According to information from the Westchester County Board of Elections, Benson earned approximately 2,700 signatures to trigger the primary. The minimum number of signatures required for a Republican candidate seeking a countywide position is 2,000. Bendish amassed more than 4,000 signatures of support. And during the Westchester County Republican Convention in April, Bendish received support from about 75 percent of more than 1,000 Republican delegates.
Bendish, a White Plains attorney who has served as assistant district attorney in Westchester for 14 years—which included a stint as the head of the homicide bureau—said the motto of his campaign is “experience matters.”
Bendish said he has tried cases in each of the county’s courts, and hundreds of cases as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney. His experience as a prosecutor included working with the county’s judges, making decisions about the viability of cases, requesting wire taps, and working with each of the county’s police departments. “I have familiarity with all of them,” Bendish said. “I’ve dealt with all of them and I will easily have a working relationship with all of them.”
Benson, of New Rochelle, was a prosecutor for two decades in Brooklyn and then a prosecutor for another 10 years in Nassau County.
Like Bendish, Benson also addressed his experience as a key to his success. “When the voters have a choice either in the primary or in the general election, they will realize the importance of having a career prosecutor in the office of the district attorney,” he said. However, unlike Bendish, who has served as a defense attorney for years, Benson has minimal experience as a defense attorney.
