Brooklyn’s district attorney race quickly is becoming one of the city’s most high-profile, with a number of celebrity personalities donating support, including comedian Chris Rock and actor Denzel Washington for candidate Kenneth Thompson, actor Chris Noth for Abe George, and Donald Trump for incumbent Charles Hynes, reported The New York Daily News.
Experts are saying the celebrities’ love of Brooklyn and specific law enforcement issues – such as stop and frisk and marijuana decriminalization – is the driving force behind the latest round of stellar endorsements.
Rock gave former federal prosecutor Ken Thompson $5,000 in November, reported the paper. And actor Denzel Washington’s wife Pauletta wrote a check to Thompson’s campaign for $500; Actor Chris Noth donated $10,000 in January to assistant district attorney Abe George’s campaign. And Donald Trump gave Kings County D.A. Charles Hynes, who is seeking a seventh term, $2,500 in July.
However, some of the high-profile donors say, regarding their decision, they are simply going with their gut: Trump said he thinks Hynes is “doing a great job,” while Noth says he supports George – the least known of the hopefuls—because he “likes a long shot.”
“Good people in politics are hard to find,” Noth said.
