There are two elements in choosing a Family Court judge – the human side and the technical side, as was eloquently stated during a recent debate by Green Party candidate Michael Sullivan of Fredonia.

This is a race that features four candidates – Sullivan, Jeffrey Piazza, endorsed by the Republican, Independence and Conservative parties; Sally Jaroszynski, endorsed by the Democratic Party; and James Spann, endorsed by the Working Families Party. All four candidates are dedicated public servants who have devoted much of their careers to representing children and families who have seen their lives torn apart by the stresses of day to day life. Sullivan, Jeff Piazza, Sally Jaroszynski and James Spann each speak earnestly about the heart-wrenching situations they have witnessed within the walls of the Family Court chambers and admitted freely they take remnants of their Family Court cases home with them – cases sometimes gnawing at them and sometimes bringing a reaffirmation of the good things in life.

We note the candidates are quite similar when discussing the human side of Family Court. Candidates all said, in one way or another, Family Court judges have to be compassionate, make sure litigants feel they had adequate time and an engaged judge to air their arguments, bring rational thinking to situations where people are acting irrationally, use Family Court to help piece together families being ripped apart at the seams while, in the end, weighing the facts and making the difficult decisions a judge must make. Each of the candidates wants to make sure the court calendar runs smoothly, help working families who may not have means to pay for an attorney understand what is expected of them before court begins – because judges can’t give legal advice once court is in session. They have different ways of doing so, but each acknowledges people need some information about the court’s expectations and rules if they have no attorney present.

It should be gratifying to voters heading to the polls on Tuesday to see four good candidates from which to choose. It is worth noting that voters have had opportunities to cast ballots on these candidates already in primaries for the Republican, Democratic, Working Family, Conservative and Independence parties. Piazza has been chosen overwhelmingly by primary election voters. Two candidates – Sullivan and Jaroszynski – were rated highly qualified and qualified, respectively, by the state Independent Committee on the Judiciary.

With all things being equal, the thing that matters most in this race is that Chautauqua County voters cast their ballot. Any of the four candidates would make a fine Family Court judge.