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| FISHER |
While much has
been made of who will get the Democratic Party nomination for the one open seat
on the Supreme Court, a Republican is poised to get her party’s nomination
later this week.
Lisa M. Fisher,
47, a Greene County resident and Kingston attorney, is expected to be the GOP’s
pick and she will run against whoever comes out on top in the ongoing battle
between Family Court Judge Margaret “Peggy” Walsh and county Legislator Justin
Corcoran. The well-documented intraparty delegate fight will come to a
conclusion one way or another when the party’s Judicial Nominating Convention
takes place on Friday.
The Republicans
also meet on Friday and the Conservative Party, which is expected to endorse
Fisher, on Saturday.
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| WALSH |
The way it works
is that delegates are picked by party bosses from the seven counties that make
up the Third Judicial District. Those delegates are elected by voters and sent
to a Judicial Nominating Convention where they vote for what is usually an
agreed upon candidate. Rare is it when there are primaries for delegates.
Delegates for Walsh,
who cannot run for Supreme Court and Family Court at the same time, won 17 of
30 primaries so 17 from Albany County will likely cast their votes for Walsh
and 13 will likely vote for Cocoran at the convention. It’s unclear how
delegates from the other counties will vote.
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| CORCORAN |
One criticism of
Cocoran – in addition to the fact he is a man – is that he is part of the old
line Democrats whereas Walsh is favored by the “progressive” Democrats headed
up by Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan. One criticism of Walsh is she already has the
party’s nomination for a re-election bid for Family Court.
Fisher has been
in private practice for 17 years and has served as an assistant public defender
for the Ulster County Public Defender’s Office, staff attorney for the Ulster
County Department of Social Services, and Court attorney for Hon. Edward T.
Feeney, Kingston City Court.
A contested
judicial race for the Third District is a recent phenomenon. For years,
political party bosses for the Democrats and Republicans would swap
endorsements to avoid a costly, seven-county race that depletes limited
resources with little political return in the way of jobs.
The Third
Judicial District consists of Albany, Ulster, Rensselaer, Greene, Columbia,
Sullivan and Schoharie counties. The seat that carries a 14-year-term opened up
when Judge Joseph Teresi, of Albany County, retired.
