Second candidate announces plans to run for Orleans County DA
John Sansone joins Susan Howard in bid to replace Joe Cardone, who is retiring after 2024
Photo by Tom Rivers: John Sansone is shown on Sept. 11 at the Courthouse Square when he attended the 9/11 memorial service.
ALBION – A long-time attorney who has worked in Orleans County announced today he will be running to succeed Joe Cardone as Orleans County district attorney. Cardone is retiring after 2024 following more than three decades in the role.
John Sansone announced his candidacy today. Sansone lives in Lockport. He is married to Maria Sansone, formerly Maria Obes of Holley. They have been renovating her Holley childhood home and are excited to move to the home on East Avenue.
John Sansone
Sansone has worked as an attorney for 28 years, including as Holley’s municipal lawyer since 2001. He also is Clarendon’s town attorney, and previously served as town attorney for Kendall and Murray.
He worked for the Orleans County Public Defender’s Office from 1998 to 2001 and has been with the District Attorney’s Office since 2007. In that role he has been prosecutor for felony jury trials and misdemeanor jury and bench trials. He has presented cases to the grand jury, participated in criminal investigations, charging decisions and case reviews.
Sansone, 56, also said he works closely with law enforcement and victims of crimes, performs discovery compliance.
“It would be an immense honor to serve as your District Attorney because the residents and communities of Orleans County deserve a seamless transition at the top of law enforcement,” Sansone said in a statement to the Orleans Hub. “Keeping our communities safe, especially in the current climate, is priority number one. The only way to effectively accomplish that goal is to fairly hold people accountable for their actions. To do that requires tireless preparation, extensive effort, a tenacious attitude, outstanding legal skill and tested trial experience. That is the only proven recipe for success in difficult cases.”
Susan Howard, who also works in the DA’s office with Cardone, also is running for DA next year. She and Sansone are both Republicans. Howard is an Orleans County resident.
Sansone touted his experience and commitment to justice. He has been lead prosecutor in the Niagara County Attorney’s Office for 22 years and won an award in 2019 as the Best AFC (Attorney for Children) in Niagara County.
He is currently special prosecutor for Kendall and Ridgeway in Orleans County and town prosecutor for Newfane and Pendleton in Niagara County.
Before becoming an attorney, Sansone worked as a reporter for The Union-Sun & Journal in Lockport, covering courts and the “crime beat” in Niagara County, as well as reporting on the Niagara County Legislature.
