Flower Hill Trustee Scott Siller received a phone call last Tuesday that cut short his European vacation.
Siller, his wife and two sons were in France when he received word that he had been selected by the North Hempstead Democratic Committee to run for district court judge, a position the attorney said would “fulfill a lifelong dream” if elected.
“It would be a complete change of life, to sit on the other side of the table,” said Siller, 52. “I’ve always represented what you might call ‘the underdog,’ and to be in what I call ‘the people’s court’ in district court would just add to my growth as an attorney and as a person. There could be no more ideal position for me at this stage of life.”
Siller, who is in his second year as a trustee in the Manhasset village, flew back to Long Island to finish the paperwork that will put him on the Democratic, Independence and Working Families lines in the November election. He said that due to a clerical error, he would not be on the Green line, as had been reported.
“I felt like Ed McMahon had knocked on my door to tell me I won the Publisher’s Clearinghouse [Sweepstakes],” Siller said.
Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Kaiman turned down a nomination to run for district court judge last Monday, a position he said he would seek after announcing he would not run for a sixth term as supervisor.
Days later, Kaiman was chosen by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to be the special advisor for Long Island Storm Recovery as part of the New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program, and serve as a liaison between the governor and areas of Long Island still recovering from Superstorm Sandy.
“I felt like I won the lottery,” Siller said. “To find that I was selected to fill the shoes of big Jon Kaiman on the slate was big. I feel nothing but pride. I’m elated. I can’t sleep or eat.”
