Scoop: Goldman receives Western Queens pols’ endorsements for civil court judge bid

Would be first openly gay judge in Queens if elected

By Matthew Fischetti

[email protected]

 

Michael Goldman, a 53 year old attorney, has launched a campaign for Civil Court Judge in Queen County’s first  Municipal Court District. If elected, he would be the first openly gay judge to represent Queens.

The civil court justice manages cases where financial relief is up to $50,000, including issues such as housing and small claims. The 1st municipal court district covers Astoria and stretches over to Long Island City and slices of Sunnyside and Woodside.

Goldman has received a series of endorsements from Queens politicians including Councilwoman Julie Won; Assemblyman Juan Ardilla; State Senator Jessica Ramos; State Senator Michael Gianaris; and Borough President Donovan Richards. He also received endorsements from Queens-based district leaders like Nick Berkowitz; Émilia Decaudin; Matthew DiStefano; Breeana Mulligan; Antonio Alfonso; and Melissa Sklarz.

”For far too long, queer New Yorkers living in Queens have had no one on the bench who understands our lives, families, and experiences,” Decaudin said in a statement. “I am excited to support Michael’s campaign—he is someone who will not just finally bring this perspective to the New York City Civil Court, but the qualifications, character, and work ethic to be a judge that our community can be proud of.

Goldman has over 25 years of legal experience, having worked in private criminal defense and civil practice prior to serving as a Senior Court Attorney to Justice Jessica Earle-Gargan. Goldman previously ran to represent the Civil Court Judge for all of Queens County in 2021 and lost by just under 2500 votes in a close election.

“I am proud to endorse Michael Goldman for Civil Court, to become the first openly gay judge to be elected in our borough,” Ardilla said in a statement. “Michael knows what it’s like to be the victim of an unjust system that goes against who New Yorkers are, who we love and how we wish to live our lives.”

Goldman was inspired to practice law by family friend Joel Blumenfeld who was a Legal Aid lawyer in the Bronx and a Criminal Judge in Queens, and said that Blumenfeld’s philosophy helped shape his views on how to be a judge.

“If you’re going to be judging someone, you should judge a complete person, not just a case number on a page,” Goldman said in a phone interview with the Queens Ledger. “So it became my desire to follow his example and eventually become a judge.”

Goldman said that while he didn’t consider his sexuality the “main part of his campaign” that he was proud of being able to openly run as a gay man. Goldman recounted a story of when he was a young lawyer in Miami, one of the firm’s partners asked him if he was gay. Goldman said that he was fired just two weeks later.

“I had no recourse at the time. And to have come from that experience, in just over 25 years – to not be able to be a judge and now to do so without having to hide that part of me, is to me,  an amazing advancement that our society has made,” he said.

Goldman also highlighted his background in various aspects in law as reasons why he feels he is qualified for the position.

“I’ve been working for judges mostly in the Queens courts for over 20 years now, both civil and criminal,” he said. “I’ve spent [time] in foreclosure parts, in discovery parts, in divorce parts. And this has given me a very broad view of the issues a judge faces each day.”

Goldman continued to say that his experience  helped shape his views on how to improve the efficiency of the courthouse and that having practiced on both sides of the bench has given him “a wide understanding of the best way to function and to run a courtroom.”

Goldman currently does not have any competitors in the race at time of publication, but candidates are able to petition for the seat until April 6.

The primary for the election will be held on June 27. 

 

Porcelli: The Other Side of Education (3/2)

CTE Shop Class: Now It’s High-Tech

Career Ed – Respectable Again?

Rosie the Riveter is a popular image from WWII representing the women who worked in the factories. (Credit: Public Domain Pictures)

Each March, we honor the accomplishments of strong, determined women with “National Women’s History Month. Established by presidential order to honor the contributions of Women in our society, its roots go back to female textile workers protesting their poor working conditions and unequal rights in New York City on March 8, 1857. It was one of the first organized strikes by working women.

Half a century later, in March 1908 more women needle trades workers marched through the City’s Lower East Side to again protest the unfair treatment of subsequent generations of working women. On March 8th that year, their activism led to the first “International Women’s Day,” and later to the establishment of Women’s History Week, which became Women’s History Month in 1987.

What began as protests highlighting the importance of women skilled trade workers, became critically important during World War II, when most working men were compelled, by honor or the draft, to leave their industrial jobs to fight in our military. This created a severe shortage of skilled workers in all areas of manufacturing. Throughout the war effort, women repeatedly stepped up to contribute by taking “men’s” factory jobs in every industry.

The famous images of “Rosie the Riveter,” epitomized the contributions of all the women who helped win WW2, by producing the weapons and other materials their men used to defeat our enemies.

Women welders built the aircraft carriers that delivered the planes real-life riveting Rosies constructed. Millions of other women produced the clothing, food, fuel, and other essential supplies of war. Their efforts were essential to our victory in WW2.

The legacies of those female skilled trade workers demonstrated that women could perform with skills equal to men – in “men’s jobs.”

What does this have to do with education? The women of “The Greatest Generation,” proved that with proper training, their natural aptitude for trade work allowed them to perform, even out-perform, in skilled trade jobs.

After the war, things returned to “normal,” with men displacing women in industrial jobs.

As in WW2, today our economy again faces a severe shortage of skilled tradesmen. Knowing that women proved they can perform in those roles during wartime, we again need them to fill gaps in our industrial workforce. During the war, women received rapid training in every aspect of trade skills, making them fully capable of performing in those roles. Unfortunately, since WW2 schools have dismantled most of our trade education programs, so that we do not currently even graduate enough men for our skilled trades.

The solution to our workforce problem lies in encouraging young woman to obtain trade skills as their great grandmothers once did and providing CTE training for all who want it.

Sometimes, the best skilled tradesman – IS A WOMAN!

Fill the Form for Events, Advertisement or Business Listing