Klein plans run for City Court judge

Corporation counsel looks to fill upcoming vacancy

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Corey Klein, the city’s corporation counsel for 20 years, will run as a Democrat for City Court judge this year, and is looking to fill the remainder of Judge Roy Tepper’s 10-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2015.

Tepper — a Democrat and one of two City Court judges, who has held his seat for 30 years — won a 10-year term last November. Since the mandatory retirement age for judges in New York is 70, however, Tepper, who will turn 70 in July, can serve only until Jan. 1. The new judge will serve the balance of his term.

In a September primary, Klein will face at least one other Democrat, local attorney Scott Nigro, a former city councilman who ran unsuccessfully against Judge Frank Dikranis in 2009.

Last year, when Tepper ran against former assistant corporation counsel Ted Hommel, a Republican, there had been speculation that if Tepper were re-elected, the city manager could appoint a judge who would serve for less than a year and be required to run in a regular election in November 2015.

But Nassau County Board of Elections Democratic Commissioner William Biamonte said that a regular election would be held this November.

“[Tepper] is basically what’s known as aging out — that seat becomes open, so it becomes a whole new election, and at that point no one can appoint anybody,” Biamonte explained. “I think you’re going to have a lot of people in that race.”

Michael Zapson, the chairman of the Long Beach Democratic Committee, said that there has been a lot of interest in the judge’s position, and that more candidates may enter the race. “It’s early in the process — you can’t even carry petitions until June, and we have to see what happens,” Zapson said.

He added that in order to get on the ballot, a candidate must gather 500 signatures from registered Democrats. In a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2 to 1, Biamonte said, that isn’t too difficult for a well-known candidate.

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