John,

This past weekend thousands of NYPD officers, elected officials, and the general public, gathered to mourn slain NYPD officer Jonathan Diller.

Diller was shot dead in late March during a routine traffic stop.

The killing has brought back into the spotlight the issue of cashless bail reform as Diller’s killer was out on $75,000 bail on a previous gun possession rap at the time.

Officer Diller’s wife and one month old baby marching in his funeral procession.

The issue of cashless bail first entered into New York political discourse during the Pandemic when it arose as a common sense solution for depopulating the notorious Rikers Island which at the time was seeing a massive spike in deaths from COVID due to its overcrowding.

The New York State legislature ultimately passed legislation ending the assessment of cash bail and while the legislation has helped many nonviolent offenders who would otherwise be in jail for the simple fact that they are poor and can’t afford the bail conditions, the system has been taken advantage of by career criminals like officer Jonathan Diller’s killer.

As you may know I was convicted of a crime and served time in prison. While I was the Vice President of a large national mortgage brokerage I failed to properly vet a transaction done through our firm which resulted in a business and bank being defrauded. As a result of my naivety, I would serve 5 months at Fort Dix, a low security correctional facility in New Jersey.

This experience taught me a great deal about the criminal justice system and through watching the experiences of my peers helped me learn that anyone can reform from criminality.

In some democratic circles being tough on crime is considered near sacrilegious, however, in my congressional district which borders the district where officer Diller was murdered it is a position that we have no choice but to stand firm on.

I am running as tough on crime because I want my son to be able to walk home from his elementary school without me having to worry that he will be caught in the crossfire of one of the shootings that happen on a daily basis across NYC.

My son is why I am running for Congress and is the reason why I am fighting so hard to build a New York safe from violent crime and MAGA extremism.

When elected I plan to fight to reform New York’s cashless bail system so that nonviolent misdemeanor offenders such as kids jumping over subway turnstiles or someone caught with marijuana can still benefit from cashless bail, but career criminals like Officer Diller’s killer who was being tried on serious weapons charges prior to the murder will have to put up real money and put skin in the game before being let out on bail.

My Republican ultra-MAGA opponent, Congressman Anthony D’Esposito, defeated the odds and accomplished a massive upset when he flipped this seat (NY-04) in large part because of his background as a NYPD Detective and his iron fisted approach towards crime.

Democrats will not win back this seat if we continue to ignore crime, however a totalitarian approach towards crime like that of D’Esposito who believes that teens should be jailed for marijuana possession, is not the answer either. My balanced approach which takes into account my experience going through the criminal justice system and calls for compassion towards minor offenders whilst calling for consequences towards the serious offenders who are making NYC a dangerous place to raise a family, is the answer.

I am the exact type of Democrat who can take this district back from the GOP and I need your help to start building the groundwork to win in November. Will you chip in with a donation today to help us take back this massive Democratic stronghold and rebuild our house majority?

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Thank you in advance for your support.

Gian Jones
Democrat for NY-04