Charles Woznick hopes to unseat veteran Judge William Schimpf in this year’s Maybrook Village Justice Election.

Woznick was elected Maybrook Village Justice in 2012 but resigned after a few weeks to focus on his job as Town of Montgomery Superintendent of Highways. He is running for village justice, as he loves serving his community.

“I’ve always served my community and this is another avenue that I can serve them,” Woznick said.

He also serves his community as a member of the Village of Maybrook Planning Board. Woznick has had a long career with the Maybrook Fire Department, serving over 39 years. He was the department’s chief for three different terms, totaling 14 years. This is his third term as a fire commissioner with the Maybrook Fire District. Woznick was previously a member of the village’s zoning board of appeals and just retired from his position as an Orange County Fire Investigator.

If elected village justice, Woznick plans to hold work sessions to educate people about substance abuse and mental health problems.

“My whole take on that is you gotta start educating people at a younger age and you have to be point blank and come right out, you can’t be hiding...,” Woznick said. “It is an issue. People think with this COVID stuff going on that it’s going to go away but it’s not going to go away.”

He also believes that educating people on the effects of substance abuse would lead to fewer arrests, as people would be aware of the consequences.

Woznick received his judge certification from the New York Judges’ Association in 2012. If elected he will go through the certification process again.

Schimpf has served as Maybrook Village Justice since 2012, handling approximately 7,000 cases during that time.

He has tackled a wide variety of cases, including landlord/tenant disputes, small claims as well as criminal and civil cases. Schimpf is excited by the prospect of serving the village for another term.

“I hope to continue the record that I built as a judge in the Village of Maybrook and continue hearing cases with fairness and dignity for all...,” he said.
Schimpf added that he has received positive feedback from the community regarding his work.

“All of the people have expressed that I’ve been a good judge, one with honesty, sincerity and certification,” he said.

As judge, Schimpf also secured grant funding to improve the security, furniture and technology in the courtroom. Security cameras have been installed and there is now a television used for trials.

Schimpf has served the Village of Maybrook in a number of different capacities over the last 46 years. He began his public service in Maybrook as a member of the planning board in 1975. Schimpf went on to become a village trustee, deputy mayor and served as mayor from 1994-2002. In addition, the village justice served as Maybrook’s youth commissioner, giving children activities to keep them on the right path.

“I’ve spent more than half my life as dedicated a public servant as can be in this village,” he said. “I would like to try and continue that for one more round as village justice.”

Schimpf loves Maybrook and hopes to continue to serve the community. He adores Maybrook’s small, intimate community.

“The Village of Maybrook has a flavor of localized America. It’s a conglomerate of people that are in a small community that enjoy each other’s company and play well in sports, are involved in schools and know each other. It’s a small community and I love that atmosphere,” he said.

Both candidates are running for one open seat and a term length of four years. The Maybrook Village Justice Election will take place on Tuesday, March 16 from noon to 9 p.m. at the Maybrook Senior Center.