About Janos

On December 14, 2020, Janos Marton suspended his campaign for Manhattan DA, largely over concerns that New York’s political process overstated the role of fundraising from large donors.

You can read his full statement here:
https://janosforda.medium.com/to-our-supporters-thank-you-for-everything-the-fight-continues-2fd742f972a0

Janos Marton is a lawyer and criminal justice reformer who has spent his career fighting against powerful interests and standing up for New York communities.  Marton was born and raised in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. As a young man of color growing up in 1990s New York City, Marton experienced firsthand how “tough on crime” tactics like stop and frisk eroded the community’s trust in law enforcement and failed to promote public safety.

His childhood in New York City inspired Marton to build a career as a legal advocate fighting against powerful interests and standing up for New Yorkers. As Special Counsel to the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption, Marton investigated Democrats, Republicans, and special interests, publicly challenging Governor Cuomo when he prematurely ended the commission’s investigation.

After leaving the Moreland Commission, Marton was chosen as leader of the #CLOSErikers campaign, a campaign to shrink the New York City prison population and close its most infamous jail. Through the #CLOSErikers campaign, Marton took on Mayor de Blasio, eventually winning the Mayor’s commitment to close New York’s shameful jail complex.

Marton next took his work nationally, leading a team fighting for national criminal justice reform at the American Civil Liberties Union. At the ACLU, Marton fought for changes to criminal justice policies such as bail, sentencing, and parole across the country.

Janos Marton will continue his legacy of reform as a Manhattan District Attorney. As a progressive prosecutor, Marton will refocus the office to take on powerful interests like unscrupulous landlords, corrupt political actors, and corporations that steal from their workers. His proposals include a commitment to reducing Manhattan’s pretrial prison population by 80%, ending the use of solitary confinement for all Manhattan defendants, and revisiting unjustly long sentences from the past to reunite families sooner.

The Marton for District Attorney campaign is committed to collaborating with formerly incarcerated people, survivors of crime, social workers, mental health professionals, law enforcement, criminal court attorneys, and community leaders to shape a plan that will repair our broken criminal legal system.

Marton was born to immigrant parents from Hungary and India. He was raised by his mother, Katalin, in a rent-controlled Upper West Side apartment with his two younger brothers, Peter and Alex. As a high school student he attended Collegiate on a full academic scholarship.

Janos Marton is a graduate of Dartmouth College, where he served as two-time student body president. He earned his law degree from Fordham Law, graduating Magna Cum Laude.

Janos Marton is a candidate in the 2021 Democratic Primary for Manhattan District Attorney, taking place on June 22, 2021.

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Janos is endorsed in this race by Zephyr Teachout, Assemblymember-elect Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, Assemblymember-elect Emily Gallagher, criminal justice advocate Akeem Browder, and human rights lawyer Steven Donziger.