complaint against D'Amato to the United States Senate Select Committee on Ethics, accusing him of illegally using his franking privilege, worth $461,000, to send a letter to three million New Yorkers stating that there was not enough evidence to charge him in 1991, but the committee dismissed the complaint. At the state Democratic convention, Holtzman received 28% of the delegate vote on the first ballot, but her support declined to 2% on the second ballot and 1% on the third ballot. Geraldine Ferraro won the endorsement. Holtzman focused on negative advertising against Ferraro, saying that it was "a legitimate and valid way of showing the voters the differences", as Ferraro was declining to attend debates at the time. Governor Mario Cuomo and Ms. founding editor Letty Cottin Pogrebin criticized her for the ads. Holtzman also demanded that Ferraro donate $340,000 to child sex abuse victims, the amount of rent she had received from Star Distributors Inc., a photographing company that was alleged to be affiliated with the mafia. Multiple feminists criticized Holtzman for her attacks on Ferraro, including Pogrebin and Bella Abzug, though Betty Friedan endorsed Holtzman. She placed last of the four candidates in the Democratic primary, after having raised $3,037,868 and spent $2,929,109, and was accused of costing Ferraro the primary. Ferraro said that Holtzman's negative campaigning hurt Democratic nominee Robert Abrams in the general election and allowed D'Amato to win reelection. Local politics Kings County District Attorney Eugene Gold retired during the 1981 election. Holtzman ran for the office in the Democratic primary against Norman J. Rosen, who was supported by Mayor Ed Koch and Brooklyn's Democratic political machine. During the campaign, Rosen ran a radio commercial that stated, "Liz Holtzman, she's a nice girl; maybe I'd like to have her as a daughter, but not as a DA." She won due to strong support from black voters. Her election made her first female district attorney in New York City and the second in New York State. Holtzman was an opponent of Meade Esposito, the chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party and its political machine, during her political career and reduced his control over the district attorney's office. Before her tenure, black people were excluded from working in the homicide bureau. The police union picketed her office in 1985, calling her a "persecutor of cops" and criticizing her for softness on crime after she created a special