October 22, 2020 — EAST MEADOW HERALD
12
ElEction 2020
2020 Judicial candidatEs District Court Judge Candidates
Family Court Judge Candidate
Vote for four
Ignatius Muscarella
Darlene Harris
Lisa Cairo
Running on the Republican, Democrat, Conservative and Independence party lines
Running on Democratic, Republican, Conservative and Independence Party lines
Running on Republican, Democrat, Conservative and Independence party lines in the general election
Age: 63
Age: 54
Age: 43
Lives in: Town of Hempstead
Lives in: Uniondale
Lives in: Garden City
Education: Bachelor’s degree, Bowdoin College; law degree, New York University Law School
Education: Bachelor’s degree, University of Pennsylvania, 1986; law degree, Hofstra University School of Law, 1989
Education: Bachelor’s degree, Loyola College in Maryland, 1999; law degree, Hofstra University School of Law, 2002
Legal career: Between 1982 and 2007, Ignatius Muscarella served as a law clerk for three justices of the New York Supreme Court. From 2008 to 2013, he was a guardianship referee, and from January 2014 to his start on the Nassau County 10th District Court in 2015, he was a court attorney referee. In 2008, Muscarella was honored for Professionalism & Community Services by the Court Officers’ Benevolent Association, and in 2004 he received the Merit Performance Award for Community Service and Humanitarian Pursuits by the New York State Court System.
Legal career: Darlene Harris is currently a Nassau County District Court judge, and was elected to the post in 2014. From 1991 to 1994, she served as senior court attorney for the District Court Law Department; from 1995 to 1996, as the Town of Hempstead’s deputy attorney; and from 1996 to 1999 as a Nassau County legislator. In 1997, she opened a private law practice, which she maintained through 2010. From 2010 to 2014, she was chair of the Nassau County Assessment Review Commission.
Legal career: Lisa Cairo began her career in 2003 as an associate at Chris J. Coschignano P.C., handling civil litigation with a focus on matrimonial cases, municipal applications and real estate transactions. In 2006, she became an associate at Jaspan Schlesinger LLP in the firm’s matrimonial practice group. In 2011, she became a partner in the firm’s municipal law, litigation and real estate practice groups. She is also a member of the firm’s management committee.
County Court Judge Vote for two
Robert Pipia
Tricia Ferrell
Running on the Republican, Democrat, Conservative and Independence party lines
Running on the Republican, Democrat, Conservative and Independence party lines
Caryn Fink Running on the Republican, Democrat, Conservative and Independence party lines Age: 53
Age: 56
Age: 47
Lives in: Roslyn Heights
Lives in: Levittown
Lives in: Uniondale
Education: Bachelor’s degree, SUNY Albany, 1987; law degree, Hofstra University, 1992
Education: Bachelor’s degree, City College of New York, 1995; law degree Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, 1998
Legal career: From to 1993 to 1994, Robert Pipia served as a law assistant for the Town of Hempstead attorney’s office. In February 1994, Hempstead Presiding Supervisor Gregory Peterson appointed him as the Hempstead Town Board counsel. He became deputy town attorney in 2000. He was also executive assistant to Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray. In 2014, Pipia was elected Nassau County District Court judge, a position he still holds. He has also served as a member of the State Rehabilitation Council, which was the oversight agency for Vocational and Education Services for Individuals with Disabilities, a division of the New York State Department of Education. And he is a member of the Hofstra Law Alumni Association board of directors.
Legal career: Tricia Ferrel began her legal career in 1998 as an assistant Nassau County district attorney. She served in that role until 2005. She was the Village of Hempstead attorney from 2005 to 2006. She became the Nassau County director of compliance from 2006 to 2008. She was appointed by Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi as a Nassau County District Court judge in 2008, and was re-elected to the post in 2009 and 2014.
Legal career: Caryn Fink started her legal career from 1993 to 2000 as an assistant district attorney and senior trial attorney in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. From 2006 to 2013, she was an assistant district attorney in the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, Rackets Bureau/Labor Unit. And from 2013 to now, she has been the principal law clerk for the Hon. Helene Gugerty, a New York State Supreme justice.
Chris Hoefenkrieg Running on the Republican, Democrat, Conservative and Independence party lines Age: 53 Lives in: Roslyn Heights Education: Bachelor’s degree, SUNY Albany, 1990; law degree, St. John’s University, 1994.
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Legal career: Chris Hoefenkrieg has been an associate court attorney in the Law Department of Nassau County Court since 2004. In addition to his duties as associate court attorney, he was assigned to work as a law clerk for 14 different County Court judges when their own law clerks were unavailable because of sickness, vacation or military leave.