Supernova challenges Kraiza for town justice

By Mark Reynolds
Posted 10/28/20

Democrat newcomer Bridgette Supernova is challenging Republican incumbent Michael Kraiza for a four-year term as Town Justice in Marlborough.

Michael Kraiza, 62, was born and raised in Marlborough …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Supernova challenges Kraiza for town justice

Posted

Democrat newcomer Bridgette Supernova is challenging Republican incumbent Michael Kraiza for a four-year term as Town Justice in Marlborough.

Michael Kraiza, 62, was born and raised in Marlborough and is running for a third term as Town Justice. He earned a B.A. in Political Science from Fairmont State College in 1980 and a law degree from Whittier College in California in 1985. By the time he won the Town Justice position he already had 25 years of judicial experience under his belt and is presently nearing the 34 year mark.

“I’ve enjoyed community service for a long time; I put 21 years in the Marlboro Hose Company, 18 of which as President,” he said.

Kraiza said he ran for the position of Town Justice because, “you could do the right thing for your town. You can sit in there and you can try and protect your townspeople and come up with ways of solving problems.”

Kraiza said as a town Judge he has to act within the parameters of the job and he does not believe in legislating from the bench. He wonders whether his opponent believes in acting as an advocate and if so she should instead become a politician. He strongly disagrees with comments made by his opponent that corruption and systemic racism surround him and his court.

“I think if anybody goes outside and takes an opinion pole when they leave my court; people with a smile on their face when they have to pay a fine is not an indication that they are overly disappointed with their experience in my court,” he said.

Kraiza said in recent years there have been several significant changes in New York: in October 2019 the state raised the age that a child can be prosecuted as an adult to 18 in criminal cases; the landlord tenant statutes have also been changed and the most controversial – Bail Reform. This especially impacted police departments and District Attorney’s Offices because of shorter deadlines when they have to provide paperwork to those charged with a crime. In addition some who are charged with certain crimes are let out on appearance tickets, only to commit another crime. In addition, defendants under certain circumstances may be allowed to visit crime scenes under supervision, however some judges have refused to sign off on allowing this to take place.

“The politicians have to figure this out, I can’t do it from the bench,” he said.

Kraiza said his court had to adapt when Covid-19 hit, starting out only with Zoom arraignments in his basement, covering nights and weekends for Plattekill, Lloyd and Marlborough that lasted for three months. He said returning to live court sessions was fairly easy to keep people safe and properly social distanced because it is held in a former school gymnasium.

“It’s a whole new ballgame with having to figure out how to do stuff,” he said, adding that he often allows people more time to pay their fines, especially when the holiday season is approaching.

Kraiza said he is proud of his life- long public service to the community. He said there are, “no allegations that I know of any corruption, racism or any of the other back door deals that I’ve seen or heard on Facebook posts that people showed me. It’s just not me, I’m here for the community.”

Democrat Brigette Supernova, 47, is seeking to unseat Judge Kraiza this November.

“I feel this year is a really good time to stand up and fight for the things that are right and to serve your community and be part of the solution. I can’t think of a better way than to run for office,” she said.

Supernova is a Photo Director and Digital Asset Manager for the national office of Planned Parenthood. She earned a B.A. in photography and Art History from Indiana State University in 1998.

After moving to Marlborough in 2018 Supernova began attending the Marlborough Democratic Party meetings. She learned what offices were open during the next election cycle and what the responsibilities were for each of the positions.

Supernova said this is the first time Kraiza has a challenger who is offering a choice to the electorate. She said she has been studying the town codes and would be taking the required continuing learning classes if she is elected to the position.

Supernova said as a judge it is important to have a sense of compassion for others, “and thoroughly looking at the merits of every case individually and offering something that is fair to the person in front of you. I also want to represent our community with a little bit of diversity; we need more women in leadership roles here.”

Supernova wants to reach out to the community through educational workshops to show how a resident can avoid legal trouble that brings them to court.

Supernova has already made arrangements to manage her workload at Planned Parenthood and on avoiding any conflicts of interest if elected.

Supernova’s path to becoming the Democratic candidate has not always been a smooth one. The Republicans filed a lawsuit against her, claiming that Supernova was not her real name, however she had it legally changed seven years ago. Another Republican legal challenge was that the Democrats had not properly posted their caucus but Supernova had taken pictures that proved her party had met the posting requirements. This took place against a backdrop that the Republican Party Committee was found not to have held a valid caucus because they were late on the paperwork. The Republicans appealed and they were allowed to hold a second caucus.

On Tuesday, the Marlborough Republican Committee released the following statement:

“The Republican party of Marlborough held a Caucus to nominate a Town Justice candidate in June, well before the state filing deadlines, at which Michael A. Kraiza, our incumbent Justice, was unanimously voted to receive the town’s Republican nomination. All rules were followed, and notarized paperwork was filed with the Board of Elections (BOE) a few days after the Caucus. At that time, the BOE notified the filer that the official Caucus notification, which had been mailed during COVID lockdowns, was not received. The BOE stated that this was not a problem and took the paperwork, which included a notarized copy of said notice.

Several weeks later in late July, after the deadline for holding Caucuses had past, the BOE notified the Republican party that their paperwork was ultimately rejected and that Michael A. Kraiza would not appear on the November ballot.

At that point, the Town of Marlborough Republican Committee was left with no choice but to file legal proceedings to get Mr. Kraiza (who was fairly nominated at a well-attended Caucus) back on the ballot. Mr. Kraiza himself filed in Court to have his case appealed. The Republican Party also filed a motion to challenge the opposing Democratic Caucus, and simultaneously, the party carried petitions to create a new ballot line – The Marlborough United line – to give Mr. Kraiza, a fair chance at maintaining his respected position in our Town. None of this was done in secret. In fact, over 300 townspeople signed the petition to get Mr. Kraiza back on the ballot. Mr. Kraiza is abundantly qualified and has earned the respect of the Town residents. “

Supernova summed up her political journey in Marlborough.

“Things are not just given to somebody, you have to work hard for it,” she said. “I feel I’m putting in a lot of effort and work as are all of my campaign volunteers.” She tipped her hat to the late town Justice Eleanor Gallagher who did not have a law degree but served the town for 31 years.

“She did an amazing job, from what I understand, and I hope to follow in those footsteps.” she said.