Cortlandt Town Justice Race Pits McCarthy vs Fugaro-Norton
The only contested race in the Town of Cortlandt on Election Day is for town justice, as incumbent Dan McCarthy vies for a fourth four-year term against challenger Maritza Fugaro-Norton.
McCarthy, who has lived in Cortlandt since he was five years old, was first elected to the bench in Cortlandt in 2008, succeeding his father, Daniel McCarthy, who served 30 years from 1977 to 2007. He handles a caseload of more than 600 new criminal and civil cases, as well as over 3,000 new traffic matters, each year. On November 5, McCarthy will appear on the Republican, Conservative and Independence lines.
Fugaro-Norton, who has resided in Cortlandt for the last 14 years, has been a Court Attorney in the Westchester County Family Court for the last 12 years. She has secured the Democratic and Working Families lines.
She earned her law degree from Pace University School of Law in 2003 and obtained her undergraduate degree from Manhattan College in 2000. Admitted to practice law in the Second Judicial Department in 2004, her legal career began at the Pace Women’s Justice Center where she represented victims of domestic violence and litigated all family law matters on their behalf. Her fluency in Spanish was an asset enabling her to assist clients in which English was their second language. Following the Pace Women’s Justice Center, she worked for a private law firm in Yonkers, handling a wide variety of cases including Matrimonial and Family Law, Criminal Law, Bankruptcy Law, Personal Injury Litigation and Real Estate transactions.
McCarthy graduated from Hendrick Hudson High School. He received his B.A. in History from Fairfield University in 1981 and his J.D. in 1985 from the Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, Touro College School of Law, where he graduated with honors as a member of the Law Review. He began his career as a trial attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Westchester County, where he represented individuals charged with felonies who could not afford to retain counsel.
Prior to being elected in Cortlandt, McCarthy served as Acting Village Justice of Buchanan, handling all aspects of the court calendar for approximately four years. He subsequently served for eight years as the Buchanan Village Attorney, ensuring compliance with local, state, and federal laws.
As a private attorney, McCarthy, along with his father, formed The McCarthy Law Firm, PC, further contributing to the already thriving small business community in Cortlandt/Croton. He and his father focused on trials and litigation in federal and state courts, handling cases involving Civil Rights, Defamation, Personal Injury, as well as Estates and Real Estate transactions. His continues to practice law at his office in Croton-on-Hudson.
If elected, Fugaro-Norton would only be the second women elected town justice in Cortlandt’s history. Two years ago, Kimberly Ragazzo paved the way, defeating 28-year incumbent judge Gerald Klein.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/