Bedford Republicans Endorse Gabor for Town Justice

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The Bedford Town Republican Committee filed paperwork with the Westchester County Board of Elections Thursday naming long-time Bedford Village resident Todd Gabor as its party’s candidate to fill the remaining three years of the term of Town Justice.

The special election will be held this November 6th to fill the position made vacant by the untimely passing of Judge Kevin Quaranta.

Todd Gabor’s considerable experience in court was one of many deciding factors for the committee according to Chairman Don Scott.

“Todd has nearly 30 years experience as a trial attorney arguing exactly the kinds of cases that appear before our Town Court. He’s also served for 16 years as a court-appointed arbitrator.”

Emphasizing the need for such directly applicable experience, Scott went on, “Simply being an attorney isn’t enough. You have to understand how town courts operate. Corporate, contract and real estate law are all important, but they have nothing to do with understanding, enforcing and mediating town law.”

Normally, candidates for town justice, or any elected position petition voters over a six week period and then have the opportunity over the next several months to earn support for first a primary and then a general election. Gabor is familiar with the process having run in the Democratic primary for Town Justice in 2009, his first and only previous foray into politics.

For special elections like this, parties select their candidates in a drastically shortened process and present them to the voters only once, on Election Day.
The Republican Nominating Committee went to great lengths to select the right person to fill the position, speaking with nearly a dozen potential candidates. According to Republican Vice-Chair and Nominating Committee member Luke Vander Linden, party affiliation was near the bottom of the list of priorities.

He said, “We weren’t interested in finding the perfect candidate, we wanted to find the perfect judge. The fact that Todd’s a registered Democrat doesn’t matter to us. And luckily, he’s very excited to have the Republican Party’s support.”

Todd Gabor and his wife Shawn have lived in Bedford for 16 years. They have two sons who attend Fox Lane Schools. Todd has been a dedicated Little League coach since 2008.

Professionally, Gabor has 28 years experience as a trial attorney and 16 years as a court-appointed arbitrator. He graduated from Pace Law School in 1984.