SCHENECTADY COUNTY – The upcoming Democratic primary for the Schenectady County Family Court judge position is heating up, with a host of familiar faces vying for the coveted spot. The winner of this primary is likely to secure a victory in the general election in November.
The race is crowded with four candidates, including former elected officials from across Schenectady County and an incumbent who won a contested primary ten years ago but failed to secure the party’s endorsement this spring.
Jill Polk, 62, is seeking a second 10-year term on one of the county’s busiest courts, which handles thousands of cases annually related to children and families, including custody disputes, child abuse cases, juvenile offenses, and domestic violence incidents.
Despite presiding over more than 13,000 family court proceedings during her decade-long tenure, Polk failed to secure the endorsement of the county Democratic Party earlier this year. Instead, the party chose to back Samantha Miller-Herrera, a former Rotterdam Town Board member who currently serves as the first deputy attorney for Schenectady County, overseeing juvenile prosecutions.
Other candidates include Michael Godlewski, a former deputy county attorney and member of the Glenville Town Board who currently works as a court attorney-referee presiding over family court matters in four counties in the state’s Third Judicial District, and Camille Siano Enders, a deputy county attorney and former Duanesburg Town Justice.
Both Miller-Herrera and Godlewski are also competing for the Conservative Party line. Both candidates have not yet decided whether they would continue their campaigns leading up to the general election in November if they lose the Democratic primary but win the Conservative ballot line.
There are no Republican candidates for the judgeship.
Frank Salamone, chair of the Schenectady County Democratic Committee, revealed that all four candidates met with party leadership. He suspects that the decision not to endorse Polk likely had to do with her being disciplined by a committee overseeing judicial conduct two years ago.
“Judge Polk’s previous disciplinary action and how she handled it, as well as multiple decisions from the appellate division [of state Supreme Court] that used strong language in critiquing her actions in various cases, likely influenced the committee’s decision,” he said.
Salamone also mentioned anecdotes of Polk treating “litigants and attorneys disrespectfully and not in the way the committee felt an individual representing the Schenectady Democrats should.”
In 2022, Polk was admonished by the state’s Commission on Judicial Conduct for workplace violations between 2015 and 2017. These included having her confidential secretary perform personal tasks during working hours and leaving her young daughter with court security on several occasions, distracting officers from their duties.
An arbitrator recommended Polk be removed from the bench, but the 11-person commission instead chose to admonish her because she had not been previously disciplined.
Polk, in an email, said the incident happened during her first year on the bench and was the result of her misunderstanding a determination and had nothing to do with courtroom practice.
“Once brought to my attention, I remedied the situation, apologized, and took full responsibility,” she said. “I addressed the issue with honor and integrity. … Since that time, I have been elected, reelected, and appointed by my colleagues and Court Administration to leadership roles and have presided over thousands of matters without any issue. That was nearly nine years ago, I have applied the lessons learned as I move forward in my role as Family Court Judge.”
Despite this, Polk’s credibility has been questioned in anonymous campaign fliers, and some candidates have even sought to capitalize on the incumbent’s misstep.
“I am the only current judge in the race that hasn’t been disciplined by the Commission on Judicial Conduct,” said Godlewski, who was appointed acting justice of the village of Scotia last year.
Godlewski added that Polk “made a mistake” and believes his background makes him a “nice alternative” to fill her spot on the bench.
Polk, in an email statement, dismissed what she called “character assaults and unsubstantiated gossip” about her time on the bench, labeling such remarks as “unkind, uncivilized, and certainly not the way adults should conduct themselves.”
“I trust that voters will not be manipulated by negative campaigning and political gamesmanship,” Polk said.
Miller-Herrera, on the other hand, said she is focused on her own campaign.
“I think it’s important to run on your own qualifications and experience,” she said. “So, I like to remind people that for 17 years I focused my career, my entire legal career, on family law. I’ve done all the advocacy positions in the courtroom and that really having the background of doing all those advocacy positions is a perspective that really helps move things along in court and gives people their chance to be heard.”
Salamone, who declined to discuss campaign tactics, said that Miller-Herrera “impressed” committee members with her work experience, personality and demeanor, which ultimately secured her enough votes to earn the party’s endorsement.
“The members of the committee felt that she was best suited to succeed Judge Polk,” he said.
However, the decision to back Miller-Herrera was not unanimous and Salamone acknowledged that some prominent party members are backing other candidates, including several elected Democrats who have endorsed Polk and Godlewski.
Miller-Herrera secured the necessary 69 votes to earn the party’s endorsement in the first round of voting, while Godlewski received 49. Polk and Enders received 12 and seven votes, respectively, according to Salamone.
Enders did not return a request seeking comment for this story.
Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy, who is backing Godlewski, said the endorsement process “was not overwhelming.”
“I always tried to support the endorsed candidates, but I just think his background, his temperament, his broad-base experience are going to serve this county better than the other candidates,” he said.
McCarthy added that he doesn’t believe party member’s endorsing various candidates is a bad thing for the party.
“The dynamics are shifting where it’s the Democratic Party that determines who the elected officials are going to be. The Republican Party is not a contender in these things,” he said.
Elsewhere, Schenectady County Attorney Chris Gardner, a former Democratic party chair, said he is backing Miller-Herrera, who he described as “well versed in all forms of family court practice” and has done a “terrific” job handling family court matters for the county.
Gardner also praised Enders and Godlewski, who he oversees and previously worked with, respectively, and said he has a “very cordial” relationship with Polk. Still, he said, Miller-Herrera has the edge due to her years of experience.
“She’s done a great job for me,” he said. “I don’t have anything bad to say about any of the candidates, but I think she’d be the best choice.”
Asked about the various endorsements from party leaders, Gardner said that “reasonable minds can differ.”
Salamone said he doesn’t view the differing options as an issue for the party moving forward.
“Do I wish that everyone was coalesced behind one candidate? Sure, it would make my life a lot easier,” he said. “But it demonstrates that there are competent attorneys that think they’re most qualified and are presenting to the public that they should be a judge.”
Disagree – It’s important to have proper grammar and punctuation, especially in a professional setting like a judge election announcement.
Disagree – Correct grammar and punctuation are crucial for conveying professionalism and credibility in election announcements.