Voters in Albany County, New York have made history by ousting their district attorney because of his support for the state's harsh Rockefeller Drug Laws and choosing a successor based on his commitment to real reform. Former deputy prosecutor David Soares, 35, declared victory over his one remaining opponent late Tuesday night.

"For your belief in me, I promise to clean up Albany and get you Rockefeller reform," Soares said in his victory speech.

The Albany County DA is the most important prosecutor in the state, because the office has jurisdiction over the state legislature. Some district attorneys have also been a significant obstacle in trying to overhaul the Rockefeller laws, and having a powerful friend of reform will set a great example for other prosecutors to follow.

"Soares' victory -- first in the primary and now in the general election -- proves that a political candidate can run and win on a platform that emphasizes sensible drug law reform," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. "The drug war bandwagon has run out of gas in New York. Political momentum now clearly favors reform."

Albany District Attorney Paul Clyne, a noted drug warrior and Rockefeller proponent, dropped out of the race for his own office last week. Clyne quit the race after many prominent New York politicians called on him to do so. One of those politicians was Soares -- who made real reform of New York state’s Rockefeller Drug Laws a focal point of his campaign.

Soares, who worked as an Assistant DA under Clyne, won the Democratic primary with 62 percent of the vote. After his defeat, Clyne decided to run in the general election as an Independence Party candidate. Clyne later dropped out and endorsed Republican Roger Cusick, who lost to Soares.