LAKE PLACID — Lake Placid attorney Bryan Liam Kennelly will take Amy Quinn’s place on the Democrat Party line for Essex County judge in November.
Quinn, also a Lake Placid resident, dropped out when she was appointed as a judge on the New York State Court of Claims.
Kennelly will face Republican Kristy Sprague of Moriah for a 10-year term as Essex County judge. Sprague is currently the Essex County district attorney.
Kennelly is an attorney in Lake Placid, sharing offices with Brian Barrett on Cascade Road.
Kennelly said because it’s a judicial race, he can’t comment in much detail on the election.
“I’m experienced and I’d be impartial,” he said Thursday. “I’m absolutely excited about the election.”
Essex County Democratic Party Committee Chair Maggie Bartley said Kennelly is a lifelong resident of Lake Placid.
“We feel he will make an excellent Essex County judge since a large portion of the cases that come before the court involve Family Court issues,” she said by email. “As a lifelong Adirondack native, Kennelly’s perspective and experiences are well suited to our communities.”
Bartley said the recent swearing in of attorney Amy Quinn of Lake Placid to the New York State Court of Claims left a vacancy on the Democratic line on the Nov. 5 ballot for Essex County judge.
KENNELLY BACKGROUND
Kennelly graduated from Lake Placid High School and SUNY New Paltz. In 2010, Kennelly earned his law degree from the University of Vermont Law School. For 13 years, Kennelly has operated a legal practice in Lake Placid, specializing in family law.
He is also the attorney for the Town of Keene. He’s also a former member of the Lake Placid Central School Board.
Kennelly is married, and he and his wife, Courtney, have a two-year daughter.
“We are fortunate to have Bryan Liam Kennelly running for Essex County judge, and we are honored to have Judge Amy Quinn representing the North Country in New York state courts,” Bartley said.
Kennelly was selected by the vacancy committees Quinn designated when she ran for judge and will also be on the Working Families Party line in November.
On Friday, June 14, the Essex County Republican Party Committee filed an objection to Quinn withdrawing from the judge race. The filing requires both Republican and Democratic election commissioners to review whether to sustain the objection.
If they both vote to sustain, Quinn would remain on the ballot even though she’d be ineligible to serve if elected.
Acting Essex County Republican Party Chair Win Belanger said Republican Noel Merrihew III filed the objection on behalf of the party.
“He filed because according to state law you can only decline if you move out of state, die or are appointed to State Supreme Court,” he said. “The reason she removed herself is not listed (in the law).”
The next step, he said, is for the Essex County Board of Elections to hold a hearing on the objection.
A hearing is tentatively set for Tuesday, June 25.