Nassau, here are your judges



Source: Nassau County


While attention has been paid to cross-endorsements for Long Island's Supreme Court judges this year, the final list of candidates for Nassau's lower court judges is official.

And since they're all cross-endorsed by the major parties, these candidates effectively are the winners in November's election.

(Remember when voters used to decide who they wanted as their judges?)

You might recognize a few names.

Of course, there's Lisa Cairo, partner in the Jaspan Schlesinger law firm and daughter of Nassau GOP chairman Joseph Cairo. Her cross-endorsement has already been public.

And then there is Chris Coschignano, former elected Republican member of the Oyster Bay Town Board and now a candidate for Oyster Bay district court.  He stepped down from the board in 2017. Besides a private law practice, Coschignano is a part-time counsel to the Republican commissioner at the Nassau Board of Elections for $80,000 a year.

All four candidates running for District Court in District 2 (Hempstead Town) are incumbents. Tricia Ferrell is a former unsuccessful Democratic candidate for county clerk and Darlene Harris is a former Republican county legislator. Ignatius Muscarella is a member of the ubiquitous Republican Muscarella family: Vincent Muscarella is a Nassau County legislator, Tom Muscarella is a Hempstead Town Board member and Joe Muscarella is a former Oyster Bay Town Board member, who now is a director of special projects for Republicans at the Nassau Board of Elections.

County court judge candidate Caryn Fink is  law clerk to Nassau County Court judge Helene Gugerty and a former Nassau assistant district attorney. Fink is married to the Nassau Democratic party's former law chairman  Steve Schlesinger, of the Jaspan Schlesinger law firm.

County court nominee Chris Hoefenkrieg is an attorney in the Nassau County Court law department.

David Wright, who also is nominated for Oyster Bay district court, is the senior principal law clerk to Appellate Division Justice Democrat Angela G. Iannacci in the second department.

Lisa Petrocelli is the candidate for the North Hempstead District Court. She is a former law clerk to the late Nassau Supreme Court Justice Joel Asarch. Her web biography lists her as the managing Attorney and Project Director of the Center for Children, Families, and the Law at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University.








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