The sudden death of Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson from cancer has stunned and saddened the political world and Brooklyn. Now all eyes are on Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has the power to appoint a replacement — and on Eric Gonzalez, the career prosecutor in charge of running the office, at least for now. Our Grace Rauh has the story.

"I mean Ken, what a huge loss," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "A guy who represented reform and integrity."

"Ken was my neighbor," said Public Advocate Letitia James. "He lived around the corner from me. The entire borough of Brooklyn is devastated as a result of his loss."

A day after the death of Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson the city mourned.

"He has just been a passionate defender of the underdog," said City Comptroller Scott Stringer. "And words cannot express how I think we all feel about his sudden passing.

"I think that we have lost a tremendous gallant soldier for justice," said the Rev. Al Sharpton. "We should stop and tell the story of a young man who did not rest of the laurels of his law degree but used it to fight for justice."

Thompson had been sick with cancer for months but only publicly announced that he taking a leave of absence to fight the disease last week. He put Eric Gonzalez, his number two, in charge of day-to-day operations.

Gonzalez is still steering the ship, and may be left to do that through the end of Thompson's term next year.

Gonzalez has been at the DA's office since 1995. Under Thompson's predecessor, Charles Hynes, he ran one of the trial divisions. Thompson promoted him and he worked on some of the DA's key initiatives, including his conviction review unit, which led to 21 people being exonerated.

Gonzales is Puerto Rican and lives in Williamsburg.

If Governor Cuomo appointed him DA, it is believed he would become the first Hispanic district attorney in the state. If Cuomo does not appoint a replacement, Gonzalez would continue to run the office.

Cuomo also has the authority to call for a special election. But given that Thompson's seat is up for election next year, it seems unlikely he would push for an earlier contest. A spokeswoman for the governor said he is reviewing his options.