Democrats’ Mini-Convention is Feb. 5
By Dan Murphy
The voters of Yonkers will select three Judges to serve on the Yonkers City Court bench in November, and a number of Yonkers democrats have stepped forward to seek a seat. The Yonkers Democratic Committee will meet Wednesday, Feb. 5 to make three endorsements.
Leading the pack is incumbent Yonkers City Court Judge Tom Daly, who has served for 20 years on the Yonkers City Court and is the near-unanimous choice of Yonkers Democrats to serve another 10 years, and succeed Chief Judge Michael Martinelli.
Yonkers Rising has known Daly for many years and respects his legal knowledge and experience on the bench. One thing Daly said several years ago still rings true today: “The one thing I try to constantly remind myself of is to treat each case like it’s the only case of the day. For me, personally, this is the best job I’ve ever had or could possibly have. I get up every morning and look forward to going to work… If you have a job that you like and you can do well, I don’t think you can ask for anything more out of life.”
So while there are three Yonkers City Court seats up for election this year, if the consensus is that Daly should be re-elected, then there are two seats open for grabs. Yonkers Democrats are expected to endorse Judge Brendan McGrath, who was appointed by Mayor Mike Spano last month to fill a vacancy on the City Court. McGrath has begun to sit on the bench and hear cases, but he must be elected in November.
We spoke to Yonkers Democratic Chairman Tom Meier about the judicial convention next week.
“We have many qualified candidates interested in running for City Court this year,” he said. “I have spoken to all of the candidates and have invited them to the convention Feb 5. I believe at the end of the day, the party will back Tom Daly and Brendan McGrath, leaving one position open.”
Currently, the two leading candidates for the Democratic Party’s endorsement for the third City Court seat is Veris Shako, a longtime democrat and former Yonkers Democratic district leader; and Danny Romano, who has been making the rounds at democratic events for a year and comes from a well-known and respected legal family in Yonkers.
Shako is a westchester-based attorney, McGrath was the Yonkers Inspector General before recently being appointed City Court Judge. Many believe Romano and Shako are the two leading candidates for the final City Court seat and endorsement from the Yonkers Democratic Party.
But there are other democratic attorneys interested in running for City Court. They include: Karen Best, an administrative law judge who moved to Yonkers last year and ran as a write-in candidate in last year’s election; Allison Burke, who has worked in the Westchester Family Court system and recently went to work for Family Court Judge Humphrey as a law clerk; Claudia Cacace, another well qualified attorney that has a famous last name in Yonkers and who has worked for a chief administrative judge in the Cacace Center in Yonkers for years and was a court clerk for Judge Mary Ann Scattaretico-Naber; and Gerry McArdle, another candidate interested and expected to attend the convention.
Meier welcomed everyone to the convention.
“The Democratic district leaders in Yonkers have the opportunity to vote for the best candidate to be our next three nominees for City Court judge,” he said.
But Meier also talked about the traditional way of getting the democratic nomination for judge, and other elected offices in Yonkers. “You don’t just wake up one morning and say, ‘I want to be a judge,’” he said. “You have to attend meetings, get involved, and get your name out there. But you have to get in line and help other candidates, then, after a few years, everyone else will help you.”
Meier said he is hopeful that Yonkers democrats can come out united behind their three candidates, and that there will not be a democratic primary for City Court. “Most Yonkers Democrats don’t want a primary for Judge Daly because of his qualifications,” he said.
Last year, Karen Best’s write-in campaign against the Yonkers Democratic nominee of Judge Elena Goldberg-Velazquez was not welcomed by Meier, or many Yonkers Democrats.
Our readers may also ask: Why are we focused on the democratic candidates for Yonkers City Court? Because the Democratic Party in Yonkers is now the majority party, and in citywide races like Yonkers judge, in control and the favorite to win.
Last year, Goldberg-Velazquez defeated the republican nominee for City Court judge Richard Sweeney by a 67%-33% margin.
When Yonkers Republicans make their choices for City Court this year, we will report them to you, and if we missed your name as an interested Yonkers democrat for City Court, email us at dmurphy@risingmediagroup.com.
