BERNE — Alan Zuk is running to keeps his seat as town justice. After serving as judge for two separate four-year terms, as well as town supervisor and in the school district, he said he had established trust in and knowledge of the people of Berne.

A Democrat, he is running on the Democratic and Conservative lines.

Zuk, 68, has served in a variety of local positions. After growing up in Berne, he attended and received his bachelor’s of science degree from Clarkson University, then was employed by the Berne-Knox-Westerlo School District as its transportation supervisor from 1972 to 2007. During that time, he served as town justice for four years and then as town supervisor for 16 years.

Zuk has also volunteered with Helderberg Ambulance for 10 years, and is the president of the volunteer ambulance group. He is currently a substitute bus driver for BKW.

Zuk was appointed to fill a vacancy on the bench five years ago, and then ran for re-election the following year. He said he wants to continue to serve in part because he has been working locally his whole life, and feels this serves him well as town justice.

“It’s my opportunity to serve the public and, for me, that’s the part I enjoy as town justice … ,” he said. “The fact that I’ve lived my entire life in the town, I think I know the people well.”

He said he’s enjoyed training for the position, as he finds it interesting. He is also a member of the Schoharie County Magistrates, and enjoys meeting with the town justices in Schoharie County.

“We see similar types of cases,” he said. “And it’s always interesting to hear how they resolve a case.”

Zuk said that, if there is someone with a close relationship to himself before the bench, he will recuse himself from the case, and it will either be directed to his fellow judge — Berne has two justices —  or a county judge will pass it down to a neighboring town.

Zuk noted that there is a law specifying a cousin or a closer related relative cannot be tried by a judge. Additionally, a town justice must ensure that there is not even an appearance of bias. Zuk said that these rules ensure he is not biased.

One of the ways Zuk implements alternative sentencing is through the Community Accountability Board, which the town recently started using.

“That has been a great help,” he said.

Zuk said that the board’s goal is to help offenders make better choices. The board, made up of local people in cooperation with the Albany County District Attorney’s Office, meets in the Berne Reformed Church and decides on a form of community service or other teachable effort for the offender.

“So that’s been used many times and for the most part has a pretty high success ratio,” he said.

Such sentences are usually for young people, such as those granted the status of youthful offenders. Zuk noted that this allows those between the ages of 16 up to 19 to be tried as juveniles and have their records sealed. The Raise the Age legislation that is to be enacted in 2018 and 2019 and will ensure 16- and 17-year-olds cannot be tried as adults. He noted that the legislation may not particularly affect the town because of the use of youthful offender status and the lack of young people committing crimes.

“It’s not a huge problem in Berne,” he said. “It’s not as frequently occurring.”

He said that cases involving families may be the most difficult to deal with.

“What do you do to the parties that, really, live together, yet have this criminal action at the same time?”  he asked.

Zuk added that he is proud of efforts by himself and fellow town justice Al Raymond, who is also running for re-election, to obtain a grant to remodel the courtroom. The town board also recently approved another grant to be submitted for a new metal detector.

“We have a new bench, we have a larger space … ,” he said. “Most criminal nights we have an Albany County Sheriff giving us an extra measure of security in the courtroom.”

He noted that this added more professionalism to the court.