Release: Diana Florence Raises Over $150k in Campaign’s First Two Months
For Immediate Release
July 15, 2025
CONTACT: [email protected]
Diana Florence Raises Over $150k in Campaign’s First Two Months
Florence off to strong start since announcing campaign May 8
Raises historic haul for a third party challenger to an incumbent
New York, NY– Today, the New York State Board of Elections released the campaign finance filings for general election candidates, showing Diana Florence raised more than $150,000 in just 9 weeks since she announced her Independent campaign for Manhattan DA – a historic haul for a third party challenger. The July filing is Florence’s first filing period since announcing her campaign on May 8.
“I’m proud of our campaign’s strong start in this race. New Yorkers want an end to the failed status quo and they want a District Attorney focused on prosecuting crime – not playing politics. Time and again, Alvin Bragg has put political expediency above the safety of New Yorkers, and enough is enough. I have spent my career as a prosecutor keeping New York safe, and that’s exactly what I will do as the next Manhattan District Attorney,” said Diana Florence.
Florence, a lifelong Democrat who has spent 30 years as a prosecutor, including 25 years in the Manhattan DA’s Office, is running for Manhattan DA as an Independent on the “Safer Manhattan” line in the November election. She reported raising $151,533 from 114 contributors, as her campaign builds momentum for a competitive challenge to incumbent DA Alvin Bragg, who has presided over a sharp increase in crime and major felonies since he took office in January 2022. Florence has been endorsed by the Insulators local 12.
About Diana Florence:
Diana Florence started her career 30 years ago in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, after receiving her BA with honors and Phi Beta Kappa and her law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Fluent in Spanish, Florence spent 25 years as a prosecutor focusing on street crime, domestic violence, complex frauds, and corruption cases, ultimately creating and leading the nation’s first Construction Fraud Task Force. She won groundbreaking convictions against companies and individuals for defrauding 9/11 charities, corruption, domestic violence, wage theft, and deadly work conditions. Working side-by-side with community-based groups, unions, worker centers, and government agencies, Florence created an innovative prosecution model heavily rooted in broad based community participation. She also taught trial advocacy for over two decades to lawyers in the DA’s Office and has lectured investigators and lawyers from around the world on topics ranging from inter-agency cooperation to prosecuting fraud, racketeering and workplace homicide.
As an Assistant District Attorney (ADA), Florence held powerful interests accountable by prosecuting landmark cases on behalf of workers and taxpayers. She secured justice for the family of a 22 year-old construction worker, Carlos Moncayo, who was buried alive at work. Using the existing criminal law, Florence obtained convictions against the corporations and site supervisors, who had been repeatedly warned of hazardous conditions, for manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide related to Moncayo’s death. Florence also secured a record breaking wage theft conviction working alongside IronWorkers Local 361 to secure $6 million in stolen wages and back-pay from AGL Industries. Not only did Florence prosecute these cases, she authored two bills—Wage Theft and Carlos’ Law—that later became New York State Laws. These successes led to her run for Manhattan District Attorney in 2021, with the support of 20 labor unions.
The conclusion of Florence’s campaign coincided with a sea of change in collegiate athletics, namely the broad legalization of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) compensation. Recognizing the parallels between immigrant construction workers and these young athletes, namely that both groups were traditionally overlooked and yet were the engines of multi-billion-dollar industries, she transitioned her practice to collegiate athletics as both an attorney and a consultant. She is one of a handful of lawyers nationwide that has successfully sued the NCAA, on behalf of a Division One basketball player at Manhattan College, and won a preliminary injunction that granted him immediate eligibility. Born in Manhattan, Florence is a long-time resident of Kips Bay where she lives with her husband and two children.