SULLIVAN COUNTY –– November 2023 is a ways away but one of the more prominent races on the ticket, in addition to the nine County Legislature seats, will be the one for Sullivan County District Attorney. 

Throwing his hat into consideration is Deputy County Attorney Tom Cawley, who is currently seeking the Democratic endorsement.

If he and Chief Assistant District Attorney Brian Conaty, who is expected to be named Acting District Attorney once Meagan Galligan ascends to the bench in New York’s Third Judicial District this month, receive the requisite amount of signatures, they’d face off in a Democratic primary, likely over the summer. 

Once Galligan was elected to the bench and not hearing of any prominent names entering the fray, Cawley, who worked in the Sullivan County District Attorney’s office for seven years before spending most of the last two decades in the County Attorney’s office, realized there was an opportunity on the Democratic side to put his name in the running. 

“I think I bring a lot to the table,” said Cawley, adding that he’s missed the excitement of the criminal element and trial work. “I don’t get to do a lot of trial work, especially in my position as the Deputy [County Attorney], which is more of an administrative role. Obviously, the DA’s office is a much bigger office. There’s a lot more going on from a litigation standpoint.”

Cawley believes he has the trust and respect from his peers at the Bar Association and local law enforcement agencies, who the District Attorney must work closely and have a good rapport with. 

He adds that over the years he’s never had issues with police chiefs taking his calls and they’ve always worked together to get things done. 

“The cops come to you as the District Attorney. It’s different in that they’re not just bringing facts on a particular arrest, they would be asking my opinion,” said Cawley. “And when they turn a case over to you, they’ve got to know that they can depend on your word, and they can trust that it’s going to be handled in the manner in which they believe that it should and I think I can do that as well.”

His background

Cawley, who grew up on Long Island, was a criminal justice major at SUNY Albany, before attending Hofstra Law School. While in law school he interned at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. As fate would have it, once he graduated and started sending out resumes, he was invited to Sullivan County for an interview with Steve Lungen, the DA at the time.

Cawley was hired as the office’s eighth assistant district attorney, and within seven years worked his way up the ranks to the three spot. 

Cawley noted that Lungen wanted his younger attorneys to gain experience, and they were able to go to the senior ADAs for help. The senior ADAs would often sit in on the younger attorney’s cases, offering feedback on their performance.

“There was always this camaraderie in that office, which was great,” said Cawley, adding that under Lungen’s tutelage, he saw how to run the office the right way. “I would like to bring that style of leadership and authority to the DA’s office.” 

Within a year, Cawley tried his first felony jury trial. He’d try over 20 in his seven years in the office, as well as approximately 50 misdemeanor hearings. 

In the early 2000s, Cawley, realizing there was little room to move up with two experienced senior ADAs in front of him, took a job as an assistant county attorney under Ira Cohen, and gained experience on the civil side of the law. 

With the exception of a year and a half working privately with Garigliano Law Offices, Cawley has spent the majority of the past two decades in the County Attorney’s office. 

In 2016, when Cheryl McCausland was appointed as County Attorney, Cawley was named her deputy, and when Michael McGuire was hired for the post in 2020, he also endorsed Cawley to serve as his deputy.

In the County Attorney’s office, Cawley has experience working in a supervisory capacity, training several people in the process, and serving as a mentor as Lungen did with younger attorneys during his tenure in the DA’s office.

Cawley currently resides in the Town of Mamakating with his wife Lynne Mary Cawley, a retired teacher of 30-plus years at Benjamin Cosor Elementary School in Fallsburg. 

Together they have a daughter, Christine, who Cawley said they’re very proud of. She recently graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in clinical laboratory sciences and works at New York-Presbyterian Westchester (formerly Lawrence Hospital) in Bronxville. 

In his capacity as Deputy County Attorney and Parliamentarian of the County Legislature, Cawley says he benefited from learning the ins and outs of how the County and various administrative processes work.

“Beyond just being a good prosecutor and knowing the criminal law, as a department head,  you need to know how to get things done with the County, the legislature, with the purchasing … through audit and treasurer and all those mechanics,” said Cawley. “I’ve worked with every single department in the County. There’s a lot I think I can bring to the table that very few district attorneys in the past came equipped with.”