OBSERVER Photos by Braden Carmen Zachary Dean, a SUNY Fredonia student and Jamestown Community College graduate, expressed interest in the open judge position in the Town of Dunkirk.

The Town of Dunkirk will vote in November to decide the fate of a second Town Justice position.

After a public hearing preceding the regularly scheduled meeting, the Dunkirk Town Board approved a local law to reduce the number of justices in the town from two to one.

“The reason that we’re in this position is because we’ve had no takers for the second position,” Town Board member Dr. Jay Bishop said. “We’ve looked hard. We looked at independent contractors to come in, but it’s cost prohibitive for a town our size. … We really wanted a second judge.”

Current Town Justice Christopher Penfold has managed the entire caseload of the town since October, after the death of Town Justice Robert Hubbard.

Town Board member Priscilla Penfold, who is married to Justice Christopher Penfold, stated at the public hearing, “The Town of Dunkirk has the most number of cases of any township in Chautauqua County, and they are second in revenue.”

Although Justice Penfold said he is able to manage the workload, the town has tried to find someone qualified to help.

“We’ve done what we could to bring a second justice on,” Town Supervisor Juan Pagan said.

The law was officially adopted at the regular Town Board meeting, subject to a mandatory referendum – meaning the law appears on the ballot for approval. The ballot proposition will indicate whether to approve the reduction of seats from two to one. If the reduction vote passes, there will not be an open seat to fill. If it does not pass, a candidate — including a write-in — may fill the vacant position.

“It’s in the voters’ hands,” Pagan said.

Prior to the vote, town residents voiced their opinions on the proposed law at a public hearing.

“I am concerned about bringing it from two to one,” Dunkirk town resident Shari Miller said. Miller, the town’s Planning Board Chairperson, suggested leaving the second position vacant, rather than eliminating it entirely.

“I’m in the same position as Shari,” added resident Jay Warren. “If there’s a real advantage to eliminating the position, then I would say go for it. But it has to be a strong advantage, because if a candidate happened to pop up over time, we would have to go through all the motions to get it reinstated.”

After public comments concluded, Priscilla Penfold responded, “Is there a cost savings? Yes. I don’t know that that’s a good reason to go down to one judge.”

Also at the public hearing, after months of searching, a member of the community did finally come forward at the last minute with a desire to help.

Zachary Dean, a SUNY Fredonia student and Jamestown Community College graduate, expressed interest in the open town justice position. Dean described himself as an “interested member of the public.”

Dean is a member of the Chautauqua County Planning Board. “I didn’t want to see the town have to go down to one judge,” Dean said.

Dean expressed his interest after the deadline to be listed as a candidate on the ballot. Bishop indicated he did not receive Dean’s letter of interest until the day of the meeting to vote on the matter.

“We had to decide on what to do based on some late breaking news,” Bishop said.

Dean stated he plans to seek election as a write-in candidate.

“Unfortunately, (Dean’s interest was) a little too late,” Pagan said. “But the public will have a chance to speak, so you’re not out of the picture totally at this point. Come November, the voters will decide.”