GOP wants to give Blakeman's wife a judgeship

Daily Point

Blakeman spouse may be cross-endorsed for Family Court

Even after last year’s hard-fought partisan races, Nassau County’s Republican and Democratic chairs still seem to be in the business of reaching cross-endorsements in judicial races.

But this year comes with a unique twist.

Segal M. Blakeman, the spouse of Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, is the choice of her party for one of two Family Court seats, The Point has learned.

On Tuesday, she screens with the Nassau County Bar Association. If she is rated qualified, the Democrats are requiring that she also meet with Democratic Party lawyers with a specialization in family law for another evaluation of her credentials, according to Nassau party chairman Jay Jacobs. This is an exceptional layer of scrutiny in the dealing between the two parties. The Democrats, for instance, did not require Lisa Cairo, the daughter of GOP chairman Joe Cairo, to undergo a separate screening before they cross-endorsed her last year for a seat on the Nassau County Supreme Court.

Segal Blakeman has litigated on various issues in federal and state appellate courts. She practices with the Stone Studin Young & Nigro law group based in Woodbury. Her bio on the firm’s website prominently mentions that she served as principal law clerk for nearly three years in the county’s Matrimonial Center. She and the current county executive wed in 2015. For three years before that, she was a $112,000-per-year counsel in the county’s housing department.

Meanwhile, Eric Milgrim, with longtime Democratic ties, is the Democrats' choice for the other Family Court opening. He’s been principal law clerk for several years to state Supreme Court Justice David Gugerty, a former county Democratic elections commissioner, who himself was cross-endorsed for his current post. Milgrim is the spouse of Randi Milgrim, a divorce lawyer in the firm Mejias, Milgrim, Alvarado & Lindo based in Glen Cove.

Jacobs told The Point that there has been a long-standing agreement, since 2005, to cross-endorse judicial candidates. As a result, he said, there is now parity in the county between Democratic and Republican party judges on the bench.

Jacobs also noted that such an arrangement allows the Democrats to nominate more diverse candidates.

Under the pending deal, he said the prospective nominees for both parties must be rated qualified by the Nassau County Bar Association. “In this case, because of the extraordinary high-profile nature of the Republican selection, we are also asking the applicant to go before a second screening by Democratic Party lawyers and family law experts to see if she is qualified for the job,” said Jacobs.

The Blakemans were unavailable for comment on Monday. On background, one veteran Republican source told The Point of her prospective judgeship: “That’s what they’re saying.” Another political operative who declined to be named reported seeing a Democratic petition in circulation with Segal Blakeman’s name but couldn’t provide a copy.

— Dan Janison @Danjanison and Rita Ciolli @ritaciolli

Talking Point

McCaffrey removes Trotta from public safety panel

Almost a month after the Suffolk County PBA started a petition drive to remove Legis. Robert Trotta from the Public Safety Committee, Presiding Officer Kevin McCarthy axed the union’s chief critic from the oversight role.

In a statement Monday afternoon, McCaffrey said, “Due to recent events and the fact that I do not want this to be a distraction from the important work the committee does, I am taking Legislator Trotta off the public safety committee.” He did not respond to requests for further comment.

Trotta’s own statement, also released by the legislature’s press office, acknowledged the end of this particular battle in the PBA wars.

“It is the Presiding Officer’s prerogative to determine the membership of all committees. I have brought my concerns to most law-enforcement agencies at all levels of government and, to date, no one has acted on my complaints. Therefore, since those agencies have not determined any wrongdoing, I will now focus all my time and energy on representing the other issues important to the constituents of 13th legislative district,” it read. He, too, declined to elaborate.

And the Suffolk PBA, which launched two petition drives, text and email blasts, and a website accusing Trotta of improprieties, was subdued in contrast to its premature victory lap last month. Its broadside on Feb. 7 threw a wrench in McCaffrey’s quiet effort to have Trotta step aside after threatening, at a committee meeting, to play a secret audiotape the legislator had made of his conversation with Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison about whether officers soliciting PBA donations was a violation of department rules.

“I would like to thank the Presiding Officer and caucus for taking the necessary steps to ensure the work of government can move forward without obstruction. I would also like to thank Legislator Trotta for acknowledging no violation of law has occurred,” said president Noel DiGerolamo said in a statement.

Even the War of the Roses had periodic truces.

— Rita Ciolli @ritaciolli

Pencil Point

A new low

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Quick Points

Call it what you will

• After failed, election-denying Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake won the vice presidential straw poll at the CPAC conference over the weekend, Lake’s campaign tweeted that she was “flattered” but that “our legal team says the Constitution won’t allow her to serve as Governor and VP at the same time.” No, but it will allow her to lie about winning both at the same time.
• Former President Donald Trump says he will continue his third campaign for the presidency even if he’s indicted. Not a campaign promise you hear every day.
• Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) called last week’s White House announcement that President Joe Biden had a cancerous lesion removed from his chest “just another effort … to distract.” Jackson, who as former President Donald Trump’s physician said Trump had “excellent” cardiac health despite indicators to the contrary and who spread misleading information about COVID-19, seems to know about distractions.
• Republicans in Georgia are considering state legislation to make it easier to remove local prosecutors — an action Fani T. Willis, the district attorney investigating former President Donald Trump for election interference, calls “racist.” Maybe, maybe not, but it’s clearly political.
• The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced Sunday that changes in reaction to the first chaotic week of Grand Central Madison service were being made at the direction of Gov. Kathy Hochul — three days after changes were announced by Long Island Rail Road interim president Catherine Rinaldi. Draw your own conclusions.
• Movie theaters are now using variable pricing for admission depending on the location of the seat. Perhaps they could use variable pricing depending on the quality of the movie.
• One charm of the game of baseball, fans used to say, is that a game could go on forever. Now that there is a pitch clock, is that still true?

— Michael Dobie @mwdobie