Pelham Candidates Vie for Town Justice Seat

Four lawyers will square off for two Pelham justice seats in the town’s only contested race Tuesday.

Republican candidates Stephen Huff, an incumbent, and John DeChiaro will square off against Democratic candidates Mercedes Maldonado and George Bischof for town justice. The seat carries a four-year term.

Anthony Pasquantonio, who currently sits in the other town justice seat, isn’t running for re-election.

Bischof, 44, is running for his first public office. He is a trust and estates attorney. This is the first time that Bischof has ran for a public office.

“I’m interested in running because our town is the kind of place where everyone needs to do something to contribute,” Bischof said. “This seemed like a position that is a good fit with my professional training. I want to contribute to the community in a way that would allow me to give my full commitment and balance it with my work life.”

Bischof said that he wants to continue the tradition of excellence that already exists in Pelham town court and he believes that his personality is suited to collaborating with other town officials.

“If I’m elected, I’d like to use the opportunity to improve transparency and efficiency,” Bischof said. “I want to bring my ability and skills, running a successful small business, to the position.”

DeChiaro, 61, who practices law at an office based in Larchmont, is running again after a failed bid in 2007.  DeChiaro ran again this year despite not being endorsed by the town Republican Committee and was chosen in the Republican primary earlier this year.

“I believed that I was the best, most qualified candidate for the job and therefore I asked the people of Pelham to for their support. I didn’t get the party endorsement like the other candidate, but I left it to the people of this town to decide.”

If elected, DeChiaro said he will streamline the process and schedule conferences prior to the night of a person’s court appearance. He also said that he will make sure that cases assigned to lawyers are doled out equally.

“I think that I am best qualified to be a judge and I haven’t thought of anything other than this judgeship,” DeChiaro said.

Huff, 73, has served as town justice for 36 years and also practices as an attorney specializing in trademark and copyright law. He believes that the most important issue facing his position as town justice is the protection of the individual rights of children.

“We need to protect children from narcotics and alcohol issues by making sure they're put in contact with the people who can provide them help in those areas and by providing assistance to their parents,” Huff said.

, 45, currently serves as the Pelham village attorney. She also works for a law firm in New York City and specializes in labor and employment law. She believes these experiences, as well as her experiences as a mother of three children in Pelham schools, gives her a perspective that’s different from other town justice candidates.

She said these experiences have helped her realize the importance of information and transparency.

“I’m committed to providing information about our taxpayer funded courts and I believe that info has value,” Maldonado said. “Few in Pelham know what’s going on in the courts. You read in the Pelham Weekly about what goes on with the arrests, put we never hear about what happens thereafter”  

If elected, Maldonado said she will make it a priority to make sure that information is disseminated to the public in a way that is timely and understandable.

Other Races

In the town’s other uncontested races:

• Peter DiPaolo, who currently serves on the town council, is running for town supervisor. Joseph Solimine, the town's current supervisor, announced that he isn't running for re-election.
• Blake Bell, who currently serves as the town clerk, is running for a seat as a town councilman, which carries a four-year term.
• Dan McLaughlin, an incumbent, is running for a seat as town councilman.
• Tim Case is running for town clerk.

All four candidates are running under the Republican and Conservative lines.

Voting

Polls will be open on Tuesday, Nov. 8 from 6 a.m.-9 p.m.

For a list of polling locations near you, please enter your address information on the Vote411 website here

• To print out a ballot with candidate information before you head to the polls, visit www.vote411.org and click on the "online voters' guide." You will be able to get additional information on candidates and print out this information for Election Day.
• Once you've completed your ballot in the private booth on Election Day, you'll bring the ballot over to the ImageCast Optical Scan voting machines, and feed either end into the scanner where it will be read and depostited into a metal box.  For more information, please click here for the League of Women Voters complete voter's guide. 
• To look up your voter information, please visit the Vote411 website here.