1. Kathleen Rice

After unseating longtime Republican predecessor Denis Dillon in 2005, Rice debuted on this list the following year as No. 24. In her sophomore year, having kept her campaign promise to wage war on drunk drivers, she jumped to No. 6 and since then has slowly inched her way up the Top 10. To make it to No. 1 status three years after her Suffolk County counterpart did the same was not only for consistency in keeping the pressure on DWI offenders, gang violence and the heroin epidemic, but the fact that this district attorney has gained enough support to launch a run for New York State Attorney General—which shows she’s got gusto both here on LI and far beyond. Whether she’ll win is anyone’s guess. Either way, we know she’ll be working for us.