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OSSINING, N.Y. -- John Fried easily won a town justice seat though the second spot was too close to call early Wednesday morning, according to unofficial results from the county Board of Elections.
Fried, a Democrat, Republican, Independent and Conservative, received 48 percent of the vote with 93 percent of the votes counted. John Mangialardi, (R, I, C) was running neck-and-neck with Democrat Michael Tawil, with fewer than 100 votes separating them.
"I'm looking forward to serving the county for another four years," Fried said.
There were three candidates running for two seats on the court. Fried has been on the Ossining Town Court since March, when the town board unanimously appointed him to the position after Justice Edwin Shapiro retired.
A second open justice seat was created with the consolidation of the Ossining town and village courts that will take effect in January. When the open justice seat was created in September, Tawil, a current town councilman, decided to run for justice instead of seeking reelection to town council.
All three justice candidates said they wanted to serve on the town court because they felt the position would allow them to interact with and serve local residents. Mangialardi said he feels that the highest level of achievement for a lawyer is to become a judge. Fried said he enjoys helping people as a judge to resolve legal disputes in a way that brings finality to the decision.
The town justice position is a part-time position that pays about $35,000 per year. Judges serve for four-year terms.
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