Feb. 10 Endorsement Vote for Candidates for Judges and Judicial Delegates
Following the February 10 club meeting, Three Parks members will vote to endorse candidates for judges and judicial delegates. If you are eligible to vote, you will receive your ballot by email on the evening of February 10. You will have until the evening of Sunday, February 14 to cast your vote.
Refresher: Duties of Judicial Delegates
Judicial delegates select the Democratic nominee for open New York County Supreme Court judgeships. Delegates must be available to attend the Judicial Nominating Convention, which is held one evening, most likely in August (the 2021 date has not yet been set). At the convention the delegates cast votes, by Assembly District, to determine which judicial candidates will appear as the party’s nominees on the general election ballot in November. Delegates are also expected to meet the judicial candidates prior to the Convention. There are also Supreme Court Judicial Forums and receptions held by the candidates where delegates can meet the judges running for NYS Supreme Court.
Candidate Profiles
Robert Bardin has been an active member of the Three Parks Club since 1988, when he first helped with the storefront effort to elect Michael Dukakis as President. Since then he has continued his efforts, volunteering as Club treasurer for a number of years and as a Board member, too. In the past few years he has also served as a Judicial Delegate, and he would welcome the chance to do that again if elected. He thanks you for your consideration and, hopefully, your vote!
Sam Bartos has been an active litigation lawyer since 2010 and has lived in Manhattan Valley for over 25 years. Before switching to the law he was a concert pianist and teacher, as well as a freelance editor for major New York publishing houses. Since being admitted to the bar he has served on numerous bar association committees, including the City Bar Committee on Courts of Superior Jurisdiction, the New York County Lawyers Federal Courts Committee, of which he was secretary for five years, and the NYCLA Committee on Solo and Small Firm Practice, which he co-chaired for three. He is proud to have served the last two years as an alternate delegate in our justly famous judicial selection process, which emphasizes qualifications, the highest legal principles, and the independence of judges as they examine facts impartially in their search for the truth.
Alan Flacks is an experienced delegate to the judicial Nominating Convention, having served many times. He is conversant with the procedures, and delegates seek his guidance. He is committed to the merit screening panel process, which he helped to establish. After each convention, he writes a report of the proceedings for club members and other interested people. A long-time TPID member and Democratic County Committee member, Alan has also served as the Club’s corresponding secretary and membership secretary. His community and civic activities include his block association, the 24th Pct. Community Council, the NAACP, and the St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital Community Advisory Board.
Elaine Hazzard has resided on the Upper West Side for 25 years. She is a licensed NY attorney, has appeared at trials and hearings in Federal and State courts, and is admitted to the bars of four states and to the U.S. Supreme Court. Elaine has been a court-appointed arbitrator and taught law to undergraduates and graduate students. She has been a Judicial Delegate and Alternate since 2019. Elaine seeks to choose more excellent judges to safeguard our threatened democracy. She will seek strong, independent judges who stand against injustice and organized crime and who stand up for the rights of individuals.
Audrey Isaacs has been a very active Alternate Judicial Delegate for the past 9 years.
When not quarantined due to Corona virus, she goes to the courtroom of each judge seeking elevation to Supreme Court Justice in an effort to see him/her presiding in judicial proceedings. She creates charts comparing qualifications of candidates for elevation. Between 1975 and 2000, as an attorney in private practice specializing in litigation, she appeared for clients in state and federal courts, and city, state and federal agencies.
Between 1996 and 2008 she was an Administrative Law Judge. In 2008 she was promoted to supervise an administrative courthouse with seven Administrative Judges.
Elizabeth Kellner is a 45-year resident of Manhattan Valley and club member. She is a retired attorney. She practiced civil litigation in New York and oversaw cases in other jurisdictions for her employer. A former Three Parks Board member and officer, she has been a Judicial Delegate and County Committee member many times. She continues to follow the state courts where her husband and his firm have an active litigation practice. As Board Chair of a nonprofit health care agency with clinics in a dozen low-income neighborhoods, she has been closely involved in Covid-related crisis management decisions affecting budget, staff and patient safety and overall operations.
Josh Pepper is an attorney in private practice representing plaintiffs in civil-rights cases. Before moving to private practice, he spent many years in law practice for the state, including stints as an Assistant Attorney General and Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel to the NYS Office of Mental Health. Josh is also a longtime club member and was president in 2007.
Alfred Placeres, Esq. has been a Manhattan Valley resident since the 1950s and a Three Parks member since the 1980s. He holds a B.A. from Fordham University and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He was formerly a staff attorney for Harlem Legal Services and maintained a law office at 2710 Broadway from 1982 to 2015. He is a former Board Member of Community Board 7, a former President of the NYS Federation of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, a former Board Member of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the former Chair, Immigration Law Committee, of the Hispanic National Bar Association, and the author of "Como Conseguir Los Papeles" (Seven Stories Press). Civic Awards include Mayor Bloomberg's Small Business Advocate Award, the NYS Comptroller H. Carl McCall Civic Service Award, and the Greater NY Chamber of Commerce Small Business Advocate Award. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer proclaimed July 15, 2019, Alfred Placeres Appreciation Day.
Stephanie Tegnazian has been a TPID member for over 25 years and involved in the judiciary selection process since Lloyd McAuley began the interview forums. She has visited Housing Court, Court of Claims, Family Court, Civil Court, Supreme Court, and Appellate Court to better understand how judges do their jobs. Stephanie has worked on campaigns for Borough President Gale Brewer, State Senator Robert Jackson, and Congresspersons Max Rose (Staten Island) and Jess King (PA). Last year she became involved with NY VOTES, a statewide grassroots advocacy group dedicated to guiding lawmakers in Albany on what needs to be changed in our NYS voting laws. She feels highly qualified to be a judicial representative and represent TPID in this highly important process.
Deborah Thomas has lived on the Upper West Side (Manhattan Valley) for 35 years, has been a lifelong Democrat, and has served on the NY County Committee since 2006 and as a Judicial Delegate in 2020. She is a former Board Member and current club member of Three Parks Independent Democrats since 2004, and has been active with TPID doing petitioning, tabling, phone banking for candidates, working at the Obama and Hillary storefronts in 2008, 2012 and 2016, tabling for Biden in 2020, and fighting for health care reform and saving Social Security. Being an animal lover, she volunteers as a Cat Adoption Counselor at the NYC Animal Care Center (City shelter), and is a dedicated advocate for animal welfare issues. Outside of politics, she is an opera singer and a retired music and theater teacher in the NYC Public Schools, where she co-wrote curriculum for the “ESL through the Arts” program, which uses the Arts to help English Language Learners gain a greater command of the English language.
