The race for Nassau County District Court Judge pits incumbent Democrat Scott Fairgrieve, seeking his third term, against Republican challenger Harvey Strickon.
A Mineola resident for 34 years, Fairgrieve, 61, was first elected to his post in 2000 and won re-election in 2006
“I think I have the personality to be a good judge. I treat people decently, I’m thorough and I like the intellectual challenge of the job. And I like to help people,” Fairgrieve said.
For eight months of the year, Fairgrieve deals with commercial and residential landlord tenant cases. The rest of the time he serves as acting county court judge on felony and misdemeanor cases in criminal court .
“I like the challenge of dealing with a lot of complicated cases,” Fairgrieve said. “I still enjoy it. I like what I do and I think I’ve very good at it.”
In one particularly complex commercial case, he recalled, it took a full year to reach a settlement, which is the way he seeks to resolved the predominant number of cases he hears.
“I work hard on settling cases,” Fairgrieve said.
He said he particularly enjoys writing opinions, and during his 12 years on the bench, he estimated he’s published 150 legal opinions.
Prior to winning election as district court judge, Fairgrieve maintained a general law practice for 24 years after graduating from St. John’s University School of Law.
In addition to his work on the bench, Fairgrieve is an adjunct professor of business law at Long Island University’s C.W. Post campus.
He has been active in community affairs and lectures at area high schools on the dangers of drunk driving.
He’s a member of the board of directors of the County Seat Kiwanis and named a trustee of the Nassau County Historical Society one year ago. He served as a trustee in the Village of Mineola from 1982 to 1994. An active runner, Fairgrieve is a member of the Long Island Running Club, the New Hyde Park Road Runners Club and the Greater Long Island Running Club.
He and his wife, Linda, raised two children together.
He said he feels he should be re-elected to the bench on the strength of his experience and commitment to the job.
Fairgrieve has won endorsements from the Nassau County Superior Officers Association, Detective Association, Police Benevolent Association and Probation Officers Association and the county Sheriff’s Correction Officers Benevolent Association.
He’s running on the Independence, Working Families and Green Party lines in addition to the Democratic line.
Strickon, 64, has been in practice as a lawyer doing commercial litigation and commercial bankruptcy cases, for the past 42 years.
Working for the Manhattan-based firm of Paul, Hastings for the past 22 years, he was approached in August the county Republican Party to run and thought it would be a good change of pace.
“It’s a good time in my life to be making a change, It sounded like an interesting opportunity to leave the rat race and do something different,” Strickon said. “It gets to drag after a while, dealing with client hysterics.”
He said he hasn’t handled many criminal cases, but added that he’s a “quick learn.”
Strickon said he was told by the supervising judge of the county district court that, if elected, he could take on civil cases.
“That’s right up my alley. That’s been most of my cases over the years, commercial litigation,” Strickon said.
In addition to his corporate practice, Strickon has served as been an approved mediator for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern district of New York and the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts for the Southern and Eastern districts of New York.
He has also served as approved special mediator for the Departmental Disciplinary Committee of the First Judicial Department and is a former chairman of the Committee on Professional Discipline of The Association of the Bar of the City of New York.
For five of the past six years, Strickon has been selected as a Thompson Reuters “super lawyer” in an anonymous poll of his peers.
He and his wife, Linda, have been married for more than 40 years and raised three children as residents of Great Neck for more than 36 years.
He said he thinks he would bring a different perspective to the bench.
“I think Judge Fairgrieve has been doing landlord tenant cases for 12 years already. I think somebody from my background would add a little sophistication and a different approach to the bench,” Strickon said.
Along with the Republican line, Strickon is running on the Conservative and Tax Revolt party lines.
