A member of the City Council, David Yassky is considered by many to be a rising star in local government. Mr. Yassky, 40, a graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School, represents Brooklyn Heights, Greenpoint, Dumbo, and other neighborhoods, and serves as chairman of the council’s Waterfront Committee. He raised more than $700,000 for a possible run in the Democratic primary for district attorney in Kings County, but he announced earlier this month that he would instead run for re-election to the council. He spoke recently with Jill Gardiner of The New York Sun.

Q: You have spent a good part of the last year raising money and considering a run for the Brooklyn DA job. Why did you decide not to run?

A: There’s so much that I still want to accomplish in the City Council. This just was not the time. It’s been a very productive first three years, but there’s still a big agenda left to complete. And while I do believe that we need new leadership in the district attorney’s office. This was not the right time for me.

There are still a number of candidates planning to challenge Joe Hynes. Who do you think has the best shot?

That I can’t tell you. It’s very early. I have not looked at the other candidates closely enough to really form an opinion, but I will be doing that over the next couple of months.

Will you endorse one of them?

I expect that I will. I have not decided who to endorse nor to make an endorsement for sure. It may be that I don’t think there’s anybody that I’m really enthusiastic about.

A handful of your colleagues in the council, including the speaker, Gifford Miller, are being forced out by term limits this year. What do you want to change when the new council is formed? What needs improvement?

Well, I think we need a stronger balance of power between the mayor and council. I believe the founders got it right back in 1787 when they said that separation of powers makes for better government. There are a number of specific changes that would lead to that. Right now, the mayor essentially makes the budget and then the council tinkers a tiny bit at the edges. We should do the budget the same way Congress does. The president submits a proposal and then Congress really changes it down into the guts of the budget. The only way you’re going to force agencies to be more productive and more efficient is with stronger oversight from the City Council. I think we also need a confirmation process in city government. To me the best example of that is what happened with Bernard Kerik. The instant that the president nominated Kerik to be homeland security secretary, a whole slew of very troubling facts came to light. Most of these facts were true when he was appointed police commissioner, but they never came to light because we don’t have a confirmation process.

Are you saying all city commissioners should be confirmed by the council?

Certainly the major ones … police, fire, children’s services, homeless, environmental protection.

Shifting gears to the council. You were the lead sponsor on the gun control legislation that passed last month. Why was that so important to you?

That’s truly an issue of life and death. I think the most important thing we in the government do for this city is to make it a safe place. … The biggest crime problem we have is the flood of illegal guns that come in, principally from the Southeast, from states where there are very lax gun laws.

Critics in the firearm industry say the New York City Council does not have the authority to regulate interstate gun trafficking and that provisions of the law are unconstitutional. Do you expect portions of the law to be litigated?

I do expect them to be litigated. I absolutely expect them to withstand any challenge.

On the day that the council passed the bill, you were openly critical of the council speaker for not allowing portions of the bill to be debated. What was the fallout from that?

Well, I do think a more open legislative process will make the City Council stronger, and I very much hope the next speaker will embrace a more open legislative process, including floor debate on amendments.

So why hasn’t the current speaker done that?

I’ve talked about process with him many times. I genuinely credit Speaker Miller with moving the council forward from where it was when he came in. I think we have a lot to do, though.

Do you plan on endorsing him for mayor?

There’s a long way to go in the mayor’s race. I still want to see what kinds of campaigns the candidates run. … In truth, I think none of the mayoral candidates, including the mayor, has laid out enough of a vision for what they want to do.

So, since you’ve decided not to run for Brooklyn DA, is there any other position you would consider running for?

I’m running for re-election to the council. I want to serve in government for a long time, so I’m certainly going to keep my eyes open for opportunities where I can serve more effectively. But for now I intend to get re-elected.