There are two candidates for New York state Supreme Court Justice on the Nov. 3 election ballot — Amy Martoche and Gerald Greenan III.

Greenan is endorsed by the Republican, Conservative and Independence parties after narrowly losing a seat on the bench in 2019 to Diane Devlin. Greenan has a long career behind him as an attorney, has headed the state Liquor Authority’s Buffalo office and has served as an administrative law judge for the state Parole Board.

Martoche, endorsed by the Democratic and Working Families parties, deserves Chautauqua County residents’ vote. Martoche has been rated well qualified by the Bar Association of Erie County while Greenan has been rated unqualified, which speaks volumes when evaluating potential judges.

We also note Martoche’s strong work over eight years as a Buffalo City Court judge, where she has presided over the state’s first Human Trafficking Intervention HUB Court since its inception, acted as acting Erie County Court Judge since 2014, presided over Buffalo City Court’s Domestic Violence Part for two years and has been a member of the statewide Judicial Committee on Human Trafficking.

Thirdly, electing Martoche could have benefits for those who have state Supreme Court cases heard in Mayville. Since the retirement of Judge Joseph Gerace, residents here have not had a state Supreme Court justice with ties to Chautauqua County. Instead, judges from Buffalo travel to Mayville to hear cases.

Martoche doesn’t live in Chautauqua County, but her family has spent many summers in the county. Those summers give her knowledge of the area that would serve her well if she were to be assigned to hear Chautauqua County cases.

The Martoche name is well-known in legal circles. Martoche’s father Sal is a retired state Supreme Court and Appellate Division judge. Amy Martoche is on her way to continuing the Martoche lineage on the bench. She deserves your vote on Nov. 6.