illegal campaign activity

Dear Editor: In our local elections on November 3rd, we will be choosing among fellow citizens of our towns, often friends and neighbors. Prospective members of town boards have been campaigning on issues, on plans for positive change. Town Judge candidates, however, do not propose to change law, and so have little basis for appeal to voters, other than record, legal competence, and character. In Copake, however, there is a choice between an incumbent Town Judge, Brian Herman, who abides by the laws governing judicial elections, and Bill Kane, who does not. Section 100.5 of the Rules of the Chief Administrator of the Courts Governing Judicial Conduct defines illegal activity by “a judge or candidate for elective judicial office.” Part A-1, iii of that section states that “prohibited political activity shall include…e) publicly endorsing or publicly opposing (other than by running against) another candidate for public office.” Bill Kane has violated this law, first, at the Republican caucus by seconding the nomination of David Gordineer for Copake Assessor, and since then by having a Gordineer sign on his front lawn. Since Mr. Kane is not a lawyer, he may simply be ignorant of legal requirements for judicial candidates. In that case, Brian Herman’s careful obedience of the law, like his many contributions to Copake during his judicial tenure, illustrates an advantage of seating a qualified and practicing attorney as a Town Judge. Clark M. Simms