Newcomer Keenan says he’s always wanted to be a judge

NEW SCOTLAND – John Keenan says that he has wanted to be a judge "for just about ever." He is running on the Republican Party line in a four-way race for one of two positions.
"In my opinion, if you’re a halfway decent attorney, you should aspire to be a judge," said Keenan.
He works as a sole practitioner. About half of his work is in family and matrimonial law, he said. The second half is landlord-tenet work, he said. "The third half," he quipped, is with wills, vehicle and traffic law, and small-estate planning.

He and his wife, Suzanne, have lived in town for five years. They have three children — Joseph, Christian, and Stephany.

Keenan, 45, is also the attorney to the zoning board of appeals for the village of Voorheesville, and he prosecutes animal-control cases in both the village and the town.

He has worked for numerous police agencies, and was a New York State corrections officer for 14 years.
Throughout his career, he said, he has tried to be "fair, firm, and consistent." Keenan said, "As long as you’re fair, you gain respect."
He doesn’t consider himself to be an overly strict law-and-order person. "I know there are varying shades of gray in virtually every case," said Keenan.
"Sometimes alternatives to incarceration may be appropriate," he said, adding that the punishment depends on the case.
"I think for minor infractions, especially, community service is a good alternative to incarceration. It’s not a tax burden for the county, and [it is] a benefit to the community," he said.
When asked if the current system of electing town judges is a good one, or if he would prefer judges be appointed, Keenan said, "It depends on who does the appointment and who does the election."
Keenan’s campaign slogan is: "Let’s wash partisan politics out of your judiciary."

Keenan said that he was disappointed and frustrated with how the May appointment of David Wukitsch played out — in a split vote by the town board. The three Democratic board members voted in favor, and the two Republican members voted against.
"It’s somewhat disheartening that partisan politics plays such a role, and frankly, in the judiciary, it shouldn’t," said Keenan.
"It’s unfortunate that judges have to be affiliated with a political party to be on the ballot," he said. "I wholeheartedly believe that having partisan politics play a role in the selection of our judges is not a good thing."

The unique circumstances of this year’s election, most likely create some differences in the dynamics of the campaign, Keenan said, though, because it is his first election, he was unable to elaborate.
"It’s an unfortunate circumstance that, from now on, we’ll be electing two judges in the same election year. We could have a 100-percent turnaround in our judicial system every term," he said.
Keenan has an undergraduate degree in criminal justice, he said. "I have a pretty good working knowledge of how the system works."
In his private practice, Keenan said he is in local courts at least once a month, and sometimes, three or four times a week. "You get a handle on how things are supposed to work," he said.
"Frankly, I think all of my opponents are very nice people," Keenan said of the other candidates.

In addition to his legal experience, Keenan has been an interscholastic and intercollegiate official for both lacrosse and football for over 20 years.
"Officials don’t get to the level I’ve dealt with, without good judgment skills," Keenan concluded.