By Rob Sample
Justin Pascale was chosen to be the Republican nominee for Town Justice, in a vote that took place at the Town of Marlborough Republican Committee’s 2024 caucus in which he edged out fellow GOPer Michael Kraiza. The event took place at Marlboro Middle School last week and drew several hundred attendees.
Kraiza is finishing his third term as Town Justice and is seeking reelection. He is being challenged by Pascale for one of the two town justice positions. Daniel Jackon is in the other town justice, in the midst of his third term and not up for re-election.
In addition to remarks from candidates Pascale and Kraiza, attendees heard from Allison Esposito, who is running on the Republican ticket to represent New York’s 18th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. That seat is currently held by Congressman Pat Ryan, the Gardiner Democrat elected in 2022.
Pascale is a lifelong Marlboro resident and has been a registered Republican since age 18. His grandmother, Daisy Pascale, was the Town of Marlborough’s first female police officer. In addition, Pascale’s father, Michael, previously served as a Town Justice as well.
Pascale’s service to the town began in 1997, when he joined the town’s Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Shortly thereafter, he was hired as a dispatcher for the Marlborough Police. He later rose through the ranks to become a police sergeant and also served with the Ulster County Crisis Intervention Team. He retired from fulltime service with the Marlborough Police in February, 2023 and has served as a part-time school resource officer (SRO) since that time.
Candidates for Town Justice aren’t obligated to secure political endorsements. At the Republican caucus meeting, Pascale noted that his own beliefs and values align with the Republican Party.
Nonetheless, earlier this year Pascale sought a cross-party endorsement from the Democratic Party for his bid to become the Town Justice. He later circulated a petition and garnered more than the target number of signatories required to secure the Democratic line.
“A judge should be concerned with the facts of the matter, not political affiliations,” said Pascale, “in the same fashion that baseball umpires should not be concerned with the views nor the opinions of the players but should call balls and strikes as they see them…The town justice represents everyone in this town despite party affiliation or race, creed, gender, and beliefs – hence, the notion that justice is blind.”
Pascale said that serving the town for almost three decades has given him a good sense of the pulse of the community. He also said he takes pride in aiming to solve problems, to engage with everyone, and to strike compromises whenever possible.
“I’m guided by integrity good principles, fairness and common sense,” said Pascale. “My goal is to be firm, fair and empathetic.”
Esposito announced her bid to challenge Ryan for the 18th district congressional seat last October, and this winter earned the endorsements of the Republican committees for Dutchess, Orange, and Ulster Counties. The district encompasses all of Orange, and most of Dutchess and Ulster.
Esposito is a native of Monroe and a 25-year veteran of the New York City Police Department. She said her work and that of her fellow officers had become increasingly dangerous, leading many to fear job loss just for doing the job society demanded of them.
“The world we knew had turned upside down,” Esposito recalled. “We were told that everything we know to be good is actually bad is not only good but somehow virtuous… I took a look at the seat I was sitting in and the hat I was wearing and I realized I had to do more to effect the change that New York so desperately needs.”
She first ran as then-Congressman Lee Zeldin’s running mate in the 2022 gubernatorial campaign. While the pair lost that election, it was close, Esposito pointed out – and Ryan’s margin of victory was slim. That puts the 18th district into play, she said.
Esposito strongly emphasized her law-enforcement background in her remarks. She recalled an incident when while on patrol she was hit with a kitchen cabinet that had been tossed off a rooftop, and another where she had to take scissors to a colleague’s pants leg – which was burning because of an incendiary device that had been thrown at him.
Esposito urged everyone to vote in November. “Voting is not a right,” she proclaimed. “It is a responsibility and an obligation.”