Elect 3 Supreme Court judges
This year’s ballot will include three Democratic candidates for three open slots on the state Supreme Court, 3rd District, covering the following counties: Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Schoharie, Sullivan and Ulster. The term is for 14 years.
Of the sixteen judges currently on the bench in the 3rd Judicial District, only three are women. The election of Heidi Cochrane, Meagan Galligan, and Sharon Graff would add diversity and bring their significant experience and expertise to the Court.
With three vacancies, the election of these three candidates will also insure that a failed Trump-appointee, Tom Marcelle, will not serve.
A native of Columbia County and a former schoolteacher, Heidi Cochrane has been a trial attorney for sixteen years in diverse practice areas, including civil litigation, family law, and criminal defense. She has advocated for women who have been the victims of physical and sexual violence and continues to advocate on behalf of the underrepresented. Heidi is a fierce litigator, who believes that judges need to be empathetic and our courts must be more expeditious and efficient in the pursuit of justice.
Sullivan County native, Meagan Galligan completed her higher education at NYU and Georgetown University Law Center. She has represented the People of the State of New York as a prosecutor since 2009, becoming among the most seasoned and successful trial attorneys in Sullivan County. Meagan became the first woman to head the Office of the Sullivan County District Attorney as Acting District Attorney, which was soon followed by her election as Sullivan County's first female District Attorney. In that role, she has worked with county stakeholders to develop and implement innovative programs to address the opioid epidemic by bringing law enforcement, community organizations and volunteers together to find viable treatment options for individuals seeking help to reduce substance dependency.
Ulster County’s choice for Supreme Court, Sharon Graff, has been a litigator for twenty-four years. She volunteered for the Migrant Farm Workers Project and clerked for the ACLU Women’s Rights Project and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York. Since 2018, Sharon has been the Principal Court Attorney working in the 3rd Judicial District with the Honorable Julian D. Schreibman, J.S.C. She is best prepared to succeed him in the State Supreme Court and ready to get to work on day one. Sharon believes equality, impartiality, access to justice, and equal treatment before the courts are indispensable and essential to the rule of law. Maintaining and improving our Democracy requires nothing less.
Their Republican opponent, Tom Marcelle, is anti-choice on abortion and is a staunch opponent of women’s reproductive rights. He served as Senior Counsel for a right-wing group that opposed marriage equality and worked with the Alliance Defending Freedom, which has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for their work in support of criminalizing homosexuality and defending state sanctioned sterilization of transgender individuals.