Queens County Democrats nominate Paul Vallone for judgeship in private meeting
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Paul Vallone was nominated for a judgeship by the Queens County Democratic organization. Photo by John McCarten/City Council
By David Brand
Four attorneys, including Councilmember Paul Vallone, were nominated for judgeships by the Queens County Democratic Party during a private meeting Tuesday morning.
If elected in November, Vallone would follow his brother Peter Vallone Jr. from City Hall to the Queens bench. Peter Vallone Jr. became a justice in Queens Criminal Supreme Court in 2016 after representing Astoria for 11 years in the council.
The Vallones have been prominent members of the Queens Democratic organization for decades. Their father Peter Vallone Sr. served as city council speaker and now runs a lobbying firm. Their grandfather Charles Vallone was a long-time judge in Queens.
“This is a very emotional day following in my grandfather’s footsteps,” Vallone told district leaders and party members who were allowed to attend the remote meeting by Zoom or phone.
The event was closed to members of the press, but the audio was broadcast by a group of reform-minded district leaders critical of the county organization’s lack of transparency.
The organization’s choreographed endorsement events typically serve to rubber-stamp candidates chosen by party chiefs, including Chairperson Gregory Meeks, a member of Congress, and three Long Island-based attorneys, Michael Reich, Gerard Sweeney and Frank Bolz.
In heavily Democratic Queens, the county party’s picks for judgeships typically sail to primary and general election victories.
In 2019, however, attorney Lumarie Maldonado Cruz challenged the party-designated candidate and won a decisive victory in the first contested Democratic primary for a Queens Supreme Court seat in decades.
Some Democratic district leaders complained they did not know about the candidates they were supposed to vote on until reading an Eagle article the night before.
“The process & scheduling of this meeting are intended to keep folks out,” tweeted Astoria District Leader Zachariah Boyer. “I'm a District Leader & I found out about some candidates for judgeships just yesterday.”
Vallone was previously rated as qualified for a judgeship by an independent agency in 2012 but decided to run for the council rather than seek a judicial nomination at the time.
Three other attorneys with significant experience in the Queens court system and legal community were also nominated by the Democratic organization Tuesday.
They include court attorneys Michael Goldman and Cassandra Johnson, and Andrea Ogle, a Guyanese-born attorney who serves as vice president of the South Asian Indo-Caribbean Bar Association of Queens and has held leadership roles in the Queens County Bar Association.
“I have been practicing in Queens County for over 22 years and I consider myself a servant of the community,” Ogle told the audience at the conclusion of the meeting. “I believe the role of the judge is a critical position. It belongs to the people.”
The SAICBA-Q, which has urged the party to designate more attorneys of South Asian descent for judgeships, celebrated Ogle’s nomination .
"We are thrilled to see our very own board member Andrea Ogle selected by the Queens Democratic Organization for nomination to Civil Court. Andrea is an experienced attorney and her selection as an Indo-Caribbean Guyanese woman is historic" said attorney Ali Najmi, the organization’s vice president for external affairs.
Goldman could become the first openly gay man elected to the bench in Queens.
“I want to say I’m looking forward to this adventure with my three co-candidates,” he said.
Johnson is a court attorney in the Queens Civil Supreme Court Foreclosure Part. She previously worked in private practice and as an attorney for New York City. “I passionately believe in the rule of law,” she said.
The party also voted to endorse Assemblymember David Weprin for city comptroller. Like Vallone, Weprin is a member of a Queens political dynasty. His late father Saul Weprin was a state Assembly speaker and his brother Mark Weprin is a former councilmember and assemblymember.
A decision to back a slate of candidates for city council spurred the sharpest debate at the virtual meeting, as some district leaders, including those aligned with the group Queens New Reformers, moved to separate the endorsements into individual votes. They were overruled.
The council candidates include Austin Shafran in District 19, Sandra Ung in District 20, incumbent Councilmember Francisco Moya in District 21, Ebony Young in District 26, Adrienne Adams in District 28 and Lynn Schulman in District 29.
The party also voted to endorse Selvena Brooks-Powers in the Democratic primary for Council District 31. That endorsement comes with early voting already underway in a Feb. 23 special election for the seat representing Far Rockaway and a piece of Southeast Queens, including Springfield Gardens and Laurelton. The organization says it does not officially endorse candidates in special elections, but Brooks-Powers is running in the Feb. 23 contest.
In addition, Jim Gennaro received the party’s endorsement for the Democratic primary in Council District 24. Gennaro, a former three-term councilmember, maintains a large lead in a Feb. 2 special election for the seat.
