COLONIE — There are six candidates seeking three open spots on the Town Court bench.
Republican Andrew Sommers was appointed in 2005 and elected to a full four-year term a year later and every four years since. Republican Norman Massry was first elected in 2009 and is seeking his fourth term on one of the busiest courts in the state.
Former judge Peter Crummey, a Republican, opted to step down from the position he held since 2000 and in March, the Town Board appointed one of their own — David Green — to fill the vacancy.
Green, a former Republican, is running for a four-year term on the Democratic Party ticket along with Daniel Hurteau and Rebekah Kennedy.
Jennifer Whalen, who currently serves on the Albany County Legislature, is running with Sommers and Massry on the Republican line.
Early voting began on Oct. 23 and runs through Oct. 31. Any Albany County voter can cast a ballot at any of the following locations:
- Albany County Board of Elections: 260 South Pearl St. in Albany.
- Berne Volunteer Fire Company: 30 Canaday Hill Road in Berne
- Bethlehem Lutheran Church: 85 Elm Ave. in Delmar
- Boght Community Fire Department: 8 Preston Drive in Cohoes
- Guilderland Fire Department: 2303 Western Ave. in Guilderland.
- Pine Grove United Methodist Church: 1580 Central Ave. in Colonie.
Polls are open Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday and Wednesday noon to 8 p.m. and Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 2. Polls are open across town from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Each judge serves a four-year term on the Colonie Town Court and is paid an annual salary of $69,777 for the part time position that presides over a court that includes traffic infractions and crimes that are not more serious than a misdemeanor.
The candidates, in alphabetical order, are:
DAVID GREEN
The lifelong resident of Colonie graduated from Siena College in 1997 with a degree in accounting and graduated from Albany Law School four years later.
Prior to starting his own law firm in 2008 specializing in estate planning, elder law, real estate and taxes, he was an associate attorney with the Albany law firm of Ainsworth, Sullivan, Tracey, Knauf, Warner & Ruslander.
Outside of the law, he was a South Colonie girls softball coach, a Girl Scout troop leader and treasurer and a board member of the Greater Loudonville Association.
DAN HURTEAU
The Siena College and Albany Law School graduate has been a partner with the law firm Nixon Peabody since 1992 where he is in the Business Litigation Department and a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution and NP Trial teams.
Hurteau began his legal career as a confidential law clerk to the Judge D. Bruce Crew III, the administration judge for the Seventh Judicial District. He also devotes a considerable amount of time to pro bono services like landlord/tenant disputes, domestic violence cases and cases of excessive force.
Outside of the law he has volunteered for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region, the Justice for All Campaign and Mediation Matters. He is a member and past president of the Albany County and New York State bar associations.
REBEKAH KENNEDY
The UAlbany and Albany Law School grad currently works as an attorney for the majority caucus of the Albany County Legislature where she counsels legislators about proposed actions and decisions and drafts local laws and resolutions.
Prior to that appointment she worked for the Town of Colonie for more than a decade, first as an assistant town attorney and a senior town attorney, where she concentrated in municipal litigation, tort litigation, local law drafting, land use and planning law. She began her legal career with the firm of D’Agostino, Krackeler, Maguire and Cardona.
She was the 38th president of the Capital District Women’s Bar Association, a member of the Third Department’s Committee for Character and Fitness.
NORMAN MASSRY
The 1986 graduate of West Point earned his law degree from the University of New Hampshire. He was awarded the Bronze Star, the Air Medal and the Kuwait Liberation Medal for his service as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot in the Persian Gulf War.
For 11 years he has been a part time judge one of the busiest courts in the state. He is an active supporter of the Colonie Youth Court program, where youth charged with crimes are given second chances to become productive, law abiding members of our society, and the Honor Court, where individuals struggling with addictions are able to get the treatment.
Outside of the law, he is chair of the College of Saint Rose’s Veteran Advisory Council and a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He has serviced on the Teresian House Board of Directors on the board of the Regional Food Bank of Northeast New York.
ANDREW SOMMERS
The Boston University School of Law graduate has 30 years of civil trial experience in Supreme, Family and Justic courts throughout the Capital District.
He was a partner with his father in the Albany law firm of Sommers and Sommers until his father died in 2019.
He also worked for the Town of Colonie as a vehicle and traffic prosecutor.
JENNIFER WHALEN
Currently serving on the Albany County Legislature representing District 21, which includes Latham and Loudonville, Whalen was on the Town Board for one-term from 2015-2019.
The Georgetown University and Albany Law School graduate was an assistant attorney general for the state Department of Law, where she helped recover taxpayer funds stolen by dishonest attorneys and investigated fraudulent Medicaid claims, and a prosecutor at the state Racing and Wagering Board, where she handled cases in the thoroughbred and harness racing industries.
She also owns her own Colonie-based real estate company, the Whalen Group, and is a solo law practitioner.
