Ken Jenkins, now Westchester County Executive, has issued a direct rebuttal to a moment that former District Attorney Mimi Rocah used as an emblem of political pressure on the DA’s office. Rocah, in a wide-ranging interview with Preet Bharara, described an early-career exchange with a senior county official after a law-enforcement press conference — an exchange she says prompted her to tell the caller, “I’m not on your team.” Jenkins says that the caller was him, and his explanation of the conversation sharply contradicts Rocah’s framing.
Read: The County Protects Its Brand — Not Its People: Former DA, Mimi Rocah, Explains Why
Below is Jenkins’s statement in full, provided to Black Westchester:
In the transcript of the recording, Mimi Rocah states that I was angry because she had not invited me and other elected officials to participate in her press conference on guns.
First and foremost, I was not angry. I was not concerned about being there; at that time, I was an appointed official, not an elected official. What I did speak to DA Rocah about was why the Mayors, the Chief Elected Officers of the cities DA Rocah stated this initiative was for were angry because she failed to communicate with the Mayors before asking an appointed Police Chief or Police Commissioner to attend a press conference. I did state that those elected officials appoint those Police officials and report to their appointing authority — not to the District Attorney. From what I recall of the conversation, DA Rocah seemed to understand why those Democratic Mayors may be upset. I am sure I stated that those Mayors, all Democrats, would want to support the District Attorney. I thought District Attorney Rocah appreciated the insight and would follow up with those individuals. I recall hearing that all the Mayors appreciated the District Attorney’s call, and that all the Mayors stated they did not need to be part of the press conference.
Jenkins’ account: coordination, not confrontation
Jenkins lays out three key points: he denies being angry; he stresses his status at the time as an appointed deputy rather than an elected official; and he frames his comments as a concern for the mayors whose police chiefs or commissioners were invited to the event. Jenkins says he emphasized that police chiefs are appointed officials who report to their appointing authorities and that his call was about communication and protocol, not political pressure.
To support that claim, Jenkins points to contemporaneous coverage of the Aug. 3, 2021, event. Local reporting and the DA’s own materials described the launch as a county-and-federal initiative to coordinate data, intelligence, and prosecutorial strategy against gun and gang violence — and identified the Real Time Crime Bureau and participating law-enforcement leaders pictured at the event. Jenkins argues those facts undercut the notion that the call was an expression of partisan reproach.
Rocah’s version: an emblem of pressure
Rocah used the exchange — and her reply, “I’m not on your team” — as a vivid example of what she characterized as persistent political pressure on the DA’s office. In her interview, she described attempts by outside parties to influence case decisions, staffing, and office priorities, and she framed the press-conference call as an early instance of elected officials or political actors inserting themselves into prosecutorial affairs.
Jenkins’ account stated plainly
Jenkins said the call was strictly procedural — not a rebuke — and that he was calling out of concern for Rocah’s relationships with local leaders. He told her the mayors would reasonably expect to be consulted before their appointed police chiefs or commissioners were asked to appear at a county-coordinated event, and he framed his comments as protocol and communication, not politics. From his perspective, the exchange was routine intergovernmental coordination in a multi-jurisdictional county: a deputy making sure the DA’s office had checked with the chief elected officers whose departments were involved.
What contemporaneous records show
Jenkins cites the Lohud story and local TV coverage (including News12) that reported on the program as an interagency effort to improve information-sharing and prosecute repeat offenders. The DA’s own statements and social posts at the time described participating county and municipal law-enforcement officials and the county’s authorization for the DA to use the Real Time Crime Bureau space. Those primary materials are what Jenkins holds up as corroboration of his account.
A clearer way to understand what’s at stake
This exchange between Mimi Rocah and Ken Jenkins is more than a clash of memories — it’s a lesson in how county politics actually works. Politics isn’t only headlines or personalities; it’s incentives, routines, and relationships — and yes, sometimes honest misunderstandings. For the public’s sake, elected officials should act independently and put constituents before party choreography.
Smh His story doesn’t make any sense. He called the DA because Mayors were upset. The Mayors can’t call themselves? According to Rocah they had no problem calling or texting when they wanted political opponents investigated. So why did he need to call on the behalf of “mayors”? His story makes no sense. Two, how does it make his behavior any less disturbing if he called on behalf of someone else? 🤔 There is an uneven power dynamic since he controls the D.A.’s budget. Him contacting the D.A. is an abuse of his power, whether he did it for himself or someone else. Glad she publicly outed him.
Interesting that he was silent about the accusation that he played games with the D.A.’s budget after she wouldn’t play ball 🤔