Saritha Komatireddy speaks the truth about NY crime while Letitia James is too busy fighting Trump to keep her state safe

Watching GOP Attorney General candidate Saritha Komatireddy surgically destroy incumbent Letitia James in their debate two weeks ago, I suddenly felt like Marvin Berry in “Back to the Future” looking on in disbelief as time-traveling Marty McFly performed “Johnny B.Goode.”In the famous scene, he calls his cousin, musician Chuck Berry and holds out the phone saying, “You know that new sound you looking for? Well, listen to this.”There I was, like Marvin Berry excitedly blasting clips from my iPhone to my friends and family, who have long abandoned hope that common sense could rule here.That fresh sound was a New York candidate for office acknowledging and vowing to fight disorder, crime and fraud in the Empire State.

It was Komatireddy.“It’s not a new way forward for me, but it might be a new way forward in this political scene and that’s why it’s resonating so broadly,” she told me Tuesday morning over coffee.Komatireddy was a relatively unknown former federal prosecutor when she squared off against James, whose biggest priority as AG has been sticking it to Trump.

In the hour long debate, she was substantive, smart and prepared.She threw fair, clean punches without personal attacks.

The 41-year-old made the sitting AG look flat-footed, confused and out of her depth.“It wasn’t a performance.It was just being a good lawyer.

It was being a good prosecutor,” she said.“This is what I spent my career doing: talking to juries — a cross section of the community, folks who come from all walks of life — and presenting my case with evidence, with arguments and asking for their trust and confidence.”Okay, if it wasn’t a performance, it was a clinic in dismantling one’s opponent.The showdown produced a slew of made for social media moments, including James’ painfully awkward silence when asked to name a single previous AG she admired.

More importantly, it provided a surge of momentum for Komatireddy’s campaign.She landed importa...