In addition to elections for the U.S. Senate, House and several statewide races, Huntington residents will be casting ballots for a handful of judicial candidates on Tuesday.
Here is a look at the candidates on the ballot for the various judgeships. All candidates are listed in alphabetical order.
State Supreme Court
(Vote for Any Four)
W. Gerard Asher (R,D,C): The 69-year-old Huntington resident has served as a County Court judge (2005-08) and has served as a District Court judge since 2009. He graduated from Huntington High School, attended Princeton and Cornell University Law School. Asher was on the Huntington Planning Board for 17 years and is on the Board of Directors of the Suffolk County Bar Association. Twice he was awarded the Pro Bono Award by the Bar Association and he was named the Suffolk County Criminal Bar Association Judge of the Year in 2009.
Ralph F. Costello (D, I, WFP): Costello, 68, is seeking re-election, having served as a Supreme Court judge since 1996. For five years before that, he served as a judge on the District Court. In 1969, the East Moriches resident began working for the Legal Aid Society where he worked for more than 20 years. Costello is a graduate of Stony Book University and St. John's Law School. He is a member of the Suffolk County Bar Association and has served on its Board of Directors.
Andrew A. Crecca (R,C) Crecca has served as a County Court judge since 2005 and he has been sitting on the Suffolk County Integrated Domestic Violence Court since 2007. The Hauppauge resident graduated from Marist College and St. John's University Law School. He worked at the New York County District Attorney's Office for five years before entering private practice. Crecca is a member of the Suffolk County Bar Association and is on the board of the Cleary School for the Deaf in Nesconset.
William A. DeVore (D, I, WFP): Devore serves as a deputy bureau chief in the District Court Bureau of the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. The 62-year-old East Setauket resident spent more than 20 years at the law firm of Siben and Siben in Bayshore specializing in criminal defense cases. He also served at the U.S. Department of the Interior from 1974-1976. DeVore graduated George Washington University's Law School in 1975. DeVore sits on the board of the Suffolk County Criminal Bar Association, Suffolk County Traffic Safety Board, is a STOP DWI program lecturer and a Community Service Program Advisor.
Norman Janowitz (R, C): Janowitz, 69, is a Nassau County District judge where he has served from 1999-2004 and 2006-present. He has a degree from Hofstra University and Brooklyn Law School. Janowitz has also worked in private practice and served as a part-time arbitrator in Nassau County District Court. He is a member of the Nassau County Bar Association, the Criminal Courts Bar Association, the Nassau Lawyer's Association and the Nassau Women's Bar Association.
Daniel R. Palmieri (R,C): Palmieri has been a County Court judge since 2006 and has been appointed as an acting justice of the Supreme Court for five years now. He was elected as a District Court judge in 1988 and served for six years. The 68-year-old resident of Garden City resident is a graduate of both St. John's College and St. John's University Law School. He has been elected Director of the Nassau County Bar Association and has worked in private practice at both Dewey Ballantine in New York City and at what is now the law firm of Meyer, Suozzi, English and Klein in Mineola.
Sondra L. Pardes (D,I, WFP): Pardes, 66, has served as a District Court judge for the past eight years. Prior to that, she was the law secretary to State Supreme Court Justice Leonard Austin. The New Hyde Park resident graduated Queens College and City University of New York Law School. She also has a master's degree in social work from Hunter College and is the immediate past president of the Nassau County District Judges Association. Pardes is a member of the Nassau County Bar Association, the Nassau County Women's Bar Association and the Women's Bar Association of the State of New York.
Robert H. Spergel (D,I, WFP):Spergel has served as a Nassau County District judge since 2007. He spent 10 years in private practice prior to that specializing in civil rights and employment law cases. From 1981-1993, the 50-year-old Oceanside resident was a detective with the New York City Police Department. Spergel received his law degree from City University of New York School of Law and is a member of the Nassau County Bar Association and New York State Bar Association. He is on the board of trustees of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America.
Suffolk County District Court (3rd District)
(Vote for 2)
Martin I. Efman (D, R, I, C): Efman has served as District Court judge since 2004. From 1993-2004, he was a partner in the firm of Efman & Obedin and from 1975-1993 he was a partner at Efman & Naiburg. The 68-year-old Huntington resident also worked for Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County and New York City. Efman received his law degree from St. John's University and is a past president of the Suffolk County Criminal Bar Association.
John Andrew Kay (R, D, C, I): Kay, 66, received his law degree from Touro College Law School in 2005 and his BA from SUNY Empire State College. He is a staff attorney for the Suffolk County Legal Aid and works in private practice. Prior to being an attorney, he owned his own insurance business. Kay is a member of the New York State Bar Association, the Suffolk County Bar Association and the Amistad Black Bar Association of Long Island.
Suffolk County Court
(Vote for Any Three)
Richard Ambro (D,I, WFP) Ambro has served as a County Court justice since May after being appointed to fill a vacancy. Prior to that, the 51-year-old Wading River resident was the law secretary of Judge Randall Hinrichs for nine years and spent 16 years with the Suffolk Legal Aid Society. Ambro earned a BA from SUNY Oneonta and his law degree from Widener University School of Law. He is a member of the Suffolk County Bar Association and the Suffolk County Criminal Bar Association.
Stephen Behar (R, C STR): Behar has served on the bench as a District Court judge since 1997. He began his legal career with the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division before moving on to serve as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District. Later, the 66-year-old Islip resident served as the chief assistant to the special state prosecutor for Suffolk County and the deputy town attorney for the Town of Babylon. Behar also spent 20 years in private practice. He has a BA from Brooklyn College and his law degree from George Washington University Law School.
Stephen L. Braslow (D,R, I, C, WFP): Braslow has been a County Court judge since 2001 and served as a District Court judge from 1997-2001. The 56-year-old Amityville resident was in private practice from 1979-1990 after which he was appointed as the Babylon town attorney. He has a BA from the University of Miami and a Law Degree from Delaware Law School. Braslow is a member of the Suffolk County Bar Association and the Suffolk County Criminal Bar Association.
James C. Hudson (R,D, I, C, STR): Hudson has served as an acting Supreme Court Justice since 2005. The 51-year-old Southold resident worked as an assistant district attorney for six years before moving to the white-collar crime bureau from 1990-92. Hudson was the law clerk to State Supreme Court Justice William Underwood for eight years and elected a County Court judge in 2000. He has a BA from SUNY Albany and his law degree from New York Law School. Hudson has taught at Dowling College since 1993 and was awarded the Dowling Pride Award for Excellence for Teaching in 2007.
Family Court Judge
(Vote for two)
Bernard C. Cheng (R,D, C, I): Cheng has served as the principal law clerk to Suffolk County Court Judge James C. Hudson since 2003. Prior to that, the 43-year-old Bayport resident was an assistant county attorney in Suffolk County Family Court and with the Legal Aid Society in its law guardian and family court bureaus. He received his undergraduate degree from Stony Brook and his law degree from Touro Law School. He is a member of the Suffolk County Bar Association.
Chris Ann Kelley (D): Kelly, 52, has served as 6th District Court judge since 2007. The Port Jefferson resident was a court attorney referee for the State Supreme Court from 2002-2004 and for the Suffolk County Family Court from 2004-08. She spent more than a decade in private practice before serving as a Suffolk County assistant district attorney. She earned her undergraduate degree at Stony Brook and her law degree from Western New England College School of Law. Kelley is a member of the Suffolk County Bar Association and the Suffolk County Women's Bar Association.
Caren L. Longuercio (R, C, I STR): Longuercio has served as the principal law clerk for Supreme Court Judge Emily Pines for the past nine years and prior to that was an assistant town attorney for the Town of Brookhaven. The 42-year-old Mount Sinai resident received undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Florida. She is a member of the New York State Bar Association, the Suffolk County Bar Association and the Suffolk County Women's Bar Association as well as the Suffolk County Matrimonial Bar Association.
Key to parties:
R=Republican
D=Democrat
C=Conservative
I=Independence
WFP=Working Family Party
STR=School Tax Relief
