Stop the smear of Schneer

This was in the Kingston Times 9/30/09
Stop the smear of Schneer

Less than 24 hours after Judge Deborah Schneer won confirmation as our next Ulster County Court judge, the Ulster County Republican Party predictably kicked off its mud-slinging with baseless attacks against this outstanding judge.

On the night of July 16, 2009, Judge Schneer was unanimously confirmed by the New York State Senate to serve as our County Court judge. Even Kingston's own Republican state senator, Bill Larkin, voted for her. Schneer had previously been nominated by Governor Paterson after a judicial screening committee in Albany found her to be "highly qualified."

Never one to let facts get in the way of an attack, the very next day, in the face of the overwhelming bi-partisan support for Judge Schneer, our local Republican County Chair Mario Catalano issued a statement calling her appointment a "mockery" of the Ulster County Court. He then carefully mischaracterized a 20-year-old case in which a prisoner appealed having to appear in front of a jury shackled hand and foot. (Schneer did not "sue the taxpayers of New York" as Catalano claimed.) By seeking to undermine the public's faith in our judiciary, Catalano has decided to launch his campaign from the bottom of the gutter. The public can only hope that the Republicans won't dig any lower.

Not surprisingly, Catalano had not a single positive thing to say about his own candidate, Don Williams. This is telling. After all, just two years ago, the Republicans rejected Williams' bid for Kingston City Court judge. Now, they want to put him on the far more important County Court bench, despite his lack of judicial experience. Without a positive message, the Republican campaign apparently will consist of nothing but angry attacks. The citizens of this county should not elect as a judge the standard-bearer of angry partisans.

Deborah Schneer has 25 years of diverse legal experience throughout the Hudson Valley and beyond, giving her broad exposure to all facets of our legal system. Her opponent spent his whole career in one job. Deborah Schneer has years of judicial experience, balancing the interests of all parties who came before her and earning respect from both sides of the aisle. Her opponent has never been a judge - never presided over a single case in his life and has only been a court-room partisan.

Catalano's is only the first of what will surely be many Republican temper tantrums over imagined flaws. The public knows better. Deborah Schneer is the experienced judge we need in Ulster County's toughest court.

Julian D. Schreibman

Chair

Ulster County Democratic Committee