NY State Supreme Court race has three candidates, but only two who want the job

The sprawling regional state Supreme Court district, all eight counties of it, has three judicial candidates on the ballot this year. Only two of them are truly running.

Huh?

One of the candidates lives in Long Island so can't even vote for herself in the judicial race.

Huh?!

The two local candidates are both Republicans — incumbent state Supreme Court Justice Alex Renzi and Joe Waldorf, who is now the principal court attorney to state Supreme Court Justice William Taylor. They are running for two open seats.

The third candidate, the one who is not campaigning nor expecting to win or become a judge 300 miles from her home, is Margot Garant. More on her later.

State Supreme Court justices serve 14-year terms. The eight counties that make up the Seventh Judicial District are Cayuga, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne and Yates.

The election for Rochester City Court also has three candidates, but only two actively campaigning. In this case, however, the third candidate does not appear on a major-party line and, after a loss in the Democratic primary, opted not to campaign for the general election.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday on Election Day. We will post the election results for Monroe County as they become available.

Justice Alex Renzi running again for state Supreme Court

Judge Renzi, 65, was first elected to state Supreme Court in 2009 after serving seven years as a Monroe County Court judge. Before that, he was a town justice in Henrietta.

Last year, Renzi was chosen as "jurist of the year" by the state Supreme Court Justices association. He also has served as president of the association.

Under state law, 70 is the retirement age for state Supreme Court justices and other judges. However, should he choose, Renzi could also seek up to three two-year extensions, allowing him to serve six years beyond 70. (State law now allows these extensions for state Supreme Court judges.)

"I still love to go to work every day," Renzi said. "I love doing trials. It makes me happy."

State Supreme Court oversees both criminal and civil cases, with the latter including everything from malpractice to product liability to personal injury to matrimonial issues. Renzi, a former prosecutor in the Monroe County District Attorney's Office, almost solely focuses on criminal cases.

"The system doesn't work without jury trials," he said. "Picking a jury for me is the best part about a trial. I make sure that a fair jury is selected.

"I see more people wanting to get out of jury service than ever before. It's harder and harder to select a jury. Nobody really wants to commit to a one-week, two-week or three-week trial."

The increase in homicides and some other violent crimes, coupled with the Covid-related slowdown, has also given judges a steady load of criminal cases to handle. This bolsters the need for reliable and fair juries for trials, Renzi said.

• Renzi, a graduate of Emory Law School, previously supervised the district's criminal courts as well as its town and village courts.

• Renzi did not participate in the interviews this year from the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys, or GRAWA. He was "not recommended (from GRAWA) for refusal to participate in the evaluation process."

• In past years some candidates have opted not to participate in the evaluation processes by different organizations, a determination sometimes based on what candidates say have been political differences. Asked why he did not participate, Renzi said, "I didn't see the necessity of doing it at this time."

• The Rochester Black Bar Association also evaluates candidates but did not do so with state Supreme Court candidates this year.

Renzi is also on the Conservative Party line. His campaign website is judgerenzi.com.

Joe Waldorf running for state Supreme Court

Waldorf, 45, said "the arc of my career has really brought me to this moment."

Waldorf has been a prosecutor and an appellate lawyer with the Monroe County District Attorney's Office, represented defendants with his own law firm, and has worked closely with state Supreme Court Justice William Taylor in Waldorf's current job.

"Whatever side of the courtroom you could be on, I've been on it," Waldorf said.

Taylor largely handles a civil caseload, and Waldorf, as his principal court attorney, has been closely involved with both the legal issues and the attempts to carve out resolutions. The job includes legal research and assistance with decisions.

As a judge, Waldorf also would likely handle civil cases. He would be filling the seat of former state Supreme Court Justice H. Scott Odorisi, who this year was appointed to the state Court of Claims.

As well as the legal component of his work, Waldorf also assists with the administration of the judicial district. Taylor is the lead administrative judge in the district.

"I really wear two hats," Waldorf said. "I'm a court attorney to the administrative judge for any administrative aspects of running the Seventh Judicial District. I work on a daily basis with everybody in the eight-county district, whether it be judges to court clerks, and all court types.

"We are deeply involved in everything throughout the district."

• Waldorf is a graduate of the University of Colorado law school.

• Waldorf was rated "well qualified" by GRAWA, its second highest rating.

• His campaign website is joewaldorf.com. Waldorf is also on Conservative Party line.

While Garant is on the ballot, she is there because of the need to get her name off of a local election ballot in Suffolk County. Health problems prompted her to leave the race, but there were limited ways by which her name could be removed from the ballot.

One way was to run for a state Supreme Court judgeship; Garant, a Democrat, is an attorney and candidates from outside of judicial districts can run for state Supreme Court.

While it is unusual, this has happened in New York Supreme Court races before.

Rochester City Court candidates also on ballot

With Rochester City Court, Judge Jack Elliott is seeking his third 10-year term.

• He received the highest rating from GRAWA, a rating of "exceptionally well qualified."

• Elliott also received the highest ratings from RBBA — ratings of "highly qualified" and "highly sensitive." The second RBBA rating measures a candidate's "sensitivity to and awareness of issues impacting ethnic minorities, women, and other historically marginalized populations."

• Elliott's campaign website is judgejackelliott.com. He is also on the Working Families Party line.

City Court Judge Constance Patterson was the top vote-getter in a Democratic primary this year and, before the general election, was appointed to an opening by Mayor Malik Evans. That opening was created by the retirement of Judge Teresa Johnson.

• GRAWA rated Patterson as "qualified," its third highest rating, and "commended," an additional rating given to candidates who demonstrate "outstanding sensitivity to issues of women, minorities, and bias."

• Her website is connie4judge.com.

Senior Assistant Public Defender Campbell Roth finished third in the Democratic primary in June in her first bid for office. She is still on the Working Families Party line but is not campaigning.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Who is running for NY State Supreme Court? What to know