Long Island Supreme Court candidates backed by all political parties

Major and minor political parties have reached cross-endorsement deals that virtually assure election of six state Supreme Court candidates in November, but leave voters without a choice in November.

An agreement among Republicans, Democrats, Conservatives and the Independence Party includes Supreme Court nominations for Nassau Democratic Elections Commissioner David Gugerty, 57, of Bayville; Democratic incumbent Justice Angela Iannacci, of Manhasset; and Republican County Court judges David T. Sullivan, 56, of New Hyde Park, and Christopher Quinn, 64, of Wantagh.

The parties also have agreed to endorse Conservative Family Court Judge Thomas Rademaker, 47, of Sea Cliff, and Stephen Lynch, 68, a Court of Claims judge and Independence Party member from Speonk.

However, Gugerty and Iannacci declined to accept the Independence ballot line. Jay Jacobs, state and Nassau Democratic chairman, has clashed in the past with the Independence Party.

The cross-endorsement of Lynch is a leftover strand from a similar Suffolk state Supreme Court pact last year in which county Democrats, Conservatives and the Independence Party backed Conservatives Marian Tinari, a District Court judge, Family Court Judge Deborah Poulos, and former Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Michael Gajdos, along with Democrat George Nolan, a former legislative counsel. All four were all elected.

As part of that deal, the three parties earlier had cross-endorsed Theresa Bryan Whelan, supervising judge of Suffolk Family Court, for Suffolk Surrogate judge, after Tinari, their original candidate, dropped out.

This year's endorsement agreement surfaced Monday night when Conservatives held their judicial convention at Carlton Hall in East Islip. The GOP convention backed the same candidates Tuesday night at Laborers Local 66 in Melville, while Democrats were scheduled to award their Wednesday night at their judicial convention at the Plainview Holiday Inn.

The last piece of the agreement came together when Jesse Garcia, Suffolk Republican chairman, said before the GOP convention his county committee would back Lynch. Garcia said Lynch “has served in a fair-minded way with integrity on the bench.”