I’m grateful for the opportunity you’ve given me to serve as Town Justice for the last four years, and I’m asking you to re-elect me on Tuesday, November 7th. When I was elected in 2019, our local Court was struggling to keep up with the 21st century. My predecessor (my opponent in November) had served for 8 years and it was surprising to me that our local Court relied on fax machines and hand-written documents (on carbons). Translation services were outdated and inaccessible for those who needed them most. Email was the exception, not the norm. In addition, New York State had just enacted bail reform, changes to discovery laws, and significant housing-law changes. Just a few months into my tenure, the pandemic forced our Court to adapt quickly to a digital, remote-meeting world.

I partnered with Court staff to modernize our local Court and prepare it for the future by:

• Adjusting Court hours for earlier morning appearances, reducing waiting time for residents;

• Strengthening security measures;

• Diversifying staff, including the first female Court constable in 15 years;

• Expanding attorneys available for cases and increasing representation among people of color;

• Hiring new translation service with 41 languages on-demand, at lower cost. The previous service was available only if requested in advance.

• Adding common forms to the Court section of the Town website

But there is still more to do. In the next four years, I want to continue this important work by:

• Streamlining payment processes because the Court still accepts forms of payment inconsistently;

• Improving clerk availability. Currently clerks’ offices are in separate offices in different buildings;

• Securing space for Judges to conference cases, perform legal research and write decisions;

• Digitizing file notes.

Being a Judge is a responsibility I take very seriously. In Pelham, we average over 100 cases each week and Judges are on call 24 hours a day, every day of the year. We also serve as after-hours backups to New Rochelle and Mt. Vernon and for adolescent and juvenile offender cases county-wide. Six police agencies have cases heard in our Court. Pelham and Pelham Manor Police for local crimes, vehicle, traffic, and parking, Westchester County Police for the Hutchinson River parkway, New York State Police on Interstate 95, MTA police for the train and its right-of-way, and DEC for environmental violations. We also hear landlord/tenant, small claims and Village ordinances violations.

Despite the significant volume of cases, our Court is focused on respectfully administering justice impartially and efficiently while remaining fair and accessible to all who need it.

Please vote for me for Town Justice on Tuesday, November 7th.

About the candidate: Melissa and I moved to Pelham in 2008. Our children Henry and Josie are at Pelham High School now and they've often campaigned with me over 12 years as a Pelham Village Deputy Mayor, Trustee and Town Justice. They've learned the importance of serving their community and hopefully they've seen me learn and grow as a person and a Judge.

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS CURRENT TOWN JUDGE:

• Encouraged residents to familiarize themselves with the work of the Court by attending Court proceedings.

• Certified as an Accessible Magistrate trained to hear adolescent and youthful offender cases.

• Occasionally assigned to the City Court of White Plains to help ease a judicial staffing issue there.

• Expanding the attorneys available to handle cases and increasing representation among people of color;

• Diversifying our staff, including hiring the first female Court constable in 15 years;

• Change from bringing in one translator per language for $175/night to a translation service available via iPad for more than 41 languages, on an as-used basis, for 99 cents per minute;

• Make better use of the Court section of the Town’s website by posting commonly used forms.
  

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS A MEMBER OF THE VILLAGE OF PELHAM BOARD OF TRUSTEES (2012-2020):

• Collaborated with Assemblywoman Amy Paulin to rewrite a provision of the SAFE Act to provide local handgun registration information to local law enforcement who previously did not have access to information indicating they were entering a home where a firearm was registered.

• Spearheaded a rewrite of the Village of Pelham Telecom code

• Completed the drafting of the Village of Pelham Employee Handbook, the first in the Village.

• Negotiated the sale of the Heights water system alongside Mayors Cassidy and Volpe;

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

• 1995-2003: Produced TV commercials, music videos, and movies.

• 2007: International Legal Counsel at MTV Networks

• 2014: Head of production and business affairs Ora Media

• 2016-Current: General Counsel for 15 advertising agencies owned by Omnicom.

ENDORSEMENTS:

Chance Mullen, Mayor, Village of Pelham
Justice Robert Spolzino (retired from NY Supreme Court and Appellate Division)
Amy Paulin, NYS Assemblywoman, Assembly District 88
Nathalia Fernandez NYS Senate
George Latimer, Westchester County Executive
Terry Clements, Westchester County Legislator
Hispanic Democrats of Westchester

FAQ

WHY DO YOU WANT TO BE RE-ELECTED TOWN JUSTICE?

I want to continue to serve the community, and I appreciate opportunities to learn and grow. I'm fascinated by the people, the process, and the problem-solving and the last four years on the bench provided great opportunities to practice the judgment and temperament necessary to ensure cases in our community are decided fairly.

WHAT DOES A TOWN JUSTICE DO?

Pelham Town Court meets every week on Wednesday morning and Thursday evening, but Town Justices are on-call for arraignments and emergency orders, 24x7 every day of the year. The Town of Pelham Justice Court hears civil and criminal matters arising in both villages, numbering between 100 and 120 cases weekly. More than half are vehicle/traffic and parking, followed by criminal, landlord-tenant, Village code violations, and small claims cases. Town courts are the starting point for crimes charged in Pelham, and we also serve as the night/weekend backup for Mt. Vernon and New Rochelle courts and warrants. I also occasionally serve as a Judge in White Plains City Court to look for ways to make our courts more efficient, and as an accessible magistrate, hearing after-hours and weekend emergency applications for adolescent and juvenile offender cases, throughout Westchester county.

HOW MANY CASES DO YOU HEAR?

On an average Wednesday morning, we schedule between 80 and 100 vehicle and traffic tickets, 7-10 parking tickets, 3-4 landlord/tenant cases 2-4 violations of Village Ordinances, and one small claims case. On an average Thursday evening, we hear between 20 and 30 criminal cases in various stages from arraignment to sentencing. All trials and hearings happen on Wednesdays and Thursdays before or after the regular Court calendar. In 2022, we saw 2,489 defendants and resolved 3,381 charges.

WHO PAYS FOR TOWN COURT?

Unlike city and state courts, the Town of Pelham pays the Town Court. The budget for the Town Court is available on the Town of Pelham’s website, located here.