After Matt Parker's resignation from the Town Justice position, the fate of the vacant post has once again been brought to the fore. According to Parker, his resignation came from the need to devote himself entirely to Ellenville's Village Court following acting Village Justice Harvey Levine's surgery, and his unknown length of recovery-time.

Town Councilwoman Theresa Hyatt, the board member who made the motion to appoint Parker, said on July 10 that she was disappointed about his resignation, but that she respected his dedication to the village court, the position to which he had been elected by residents.

Shortly after news of Parker's resignation hit, Town Supervisor Ed Jennings spoke about what his plans for the position, suggesting that perhaps the town board's urgency to fill the position may have eased after this most recent development.

"I wouldn't mind filling it now, but I think November's not that far away anymore, so we might as well just wait until after the general election and let the voters decide," he said in a phone interview on July 7. "Let the voters decide who they want in there."

Now that Wawarsing's Republican and Democratic caucuses have passed, voters will get their chance to make their voices heard in November. On Monday, June 9, Wawarsing's Republicans nominated Charlie Dechon as their candidate for the November Town Justice election. Last Wednesday, the town's Democrats voted to nominate Julie Lonstein as their own candidate.

Lonstein defeated fellow Democrat Lenny Distel with 66 votes to his 34.

Speaking in a phone interview last Friday, Distel was gracious.

"I would like to congratulate Julie Lonstein on her win, and wish her the best of luck in November," he said. He also said that his political ambitions were still there, and that he was considering a run for a local position in the near future.

Should Lonstein win the Town Justice seat in the fall, she would share the bench with her brother-in-law, Wayne Lonstein, who is currently the only active Town Justice in Wawarsing.

"I think it would be to the town's advantage to have two experienced attorneys who know how to run businesses, who know how to run trust accounts," said Julie Lonstein in an interview on Tuesday of her law partner and brother-in-law. "There's no conflict in both he and I, in the event that I'm elected, both having the town justice position. In fact, it's probably to the town's advantage.

"Wayne and I have worked together as partners for 18 years," she elaborated, "we work well together, and are glad to have each other as partners, and I would imagine that this relationship could extend to working together in the court and making everything smooth."

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