It's pretty hard to surprise me, but every once and a while a letter to the editor does just that. Last week, a writer basically said our two Town Justices had no business being judges. "What is it with Lansing that we keep putting people in office of Justice who are NOT QUALIFIED?" I find this statement appalling and want to tell both of our current judges this is not a sentiment shared by most of the town.

I want to thank Justice Dave Banfield for his years of service. He's been called in the middle of the night, had to deal with an increasing workload, and has a reputation as a fair judge who weighs sentencing carefully and strives for the best outcome. Justice John Howell knows his community and is also extremely well regarded. He's been on the bench for 27 years, but didn't have judicial experience before that.

There's a lot to be said for knowing your community, and life experience, when it comes to judging your neighbors. Both have always tried to be fair and have done what they believe is best for the community. I'm sorry that some think only lawyers should be judges. There are about 1800 judges in New York State, only about 20 percent of them are lawyers. I'm of the mind that having a person with a sense of fairness and common sense is a better benchmark to judge a candidate by than a degree. Beyond that, the state calibrates these positions for non-lawyers with continuing education so the state knows they can do the job.

In the end, I believe a town justice, while it's an elected office, cannot be political once in the job. To get elected they have to follow the rules, get on the ballot by meeting folks and getting signatures like any candidate which I believe is essential in getting out into a community and seeing how ones neighbors live. Once the election is over though, they must abandon politics. Judges Banfield and Howell are able to do that and represent the town of Lansing with pride and I hope the next judge will as well.

Mike Sigler
Lansing, NY
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