Meet the Uncontested Candidates for TOE Justice: Domenick Porco

Continuing our coverage of the Town of Eastchester (TOE) political candidates for this November’s elections, we profile the second of two uncontested and incumbent candidates for Town Justice, Domenick Porco. Recently, Patch sat down with Porco to find out more about his prior work experiences and his views heading into the fall elections.

Porco, who has been a practicing attorney since January of 1977, currently serves as a member of the American Judge’s Assocation, the Westchester County Magistrate's Association, the American Bar Association, the Westchester County Columbian Lawyers Association and the Eastchester Bar Association. He is also a member of the Eastchester Italian-American Citizens Club, the Garibaldi Lodge of the Order of Sons of Italy and the Eastchester-Tuckahoe Lions Club. 

In the past, Porco as held positions as President of the Eastchester Bar Association and as a member of the Lake Isle Advisory Committee. 

In 1985, Porco was the Republican candidate for Eastchester Town Supervisor in an unsuccessful challenge to the then-incumbent, the late James P. Doody. During his tenure as Eastchester Town Justice, Porco has also sat in the City Courts of Mount Vernon, White Plains and Yonkers. As an attorney in private practice, he now maintains an office in Eastchester with a concentration in state and federal trial and appellate litigation. 

Here’s what Porco had to say about this November’s TOE elections:

Patch-1: Imagine you were speaking with someone completely unfamiliar with local government. How would you describe the duties and responsibilities of the position for which you are running for? [Town Justice]

Domenick Porco: The Town Justice Court is the judicial branch of local government. The Court is served by two Justices, each of whom is a practicing attorney in private practice. It has a regularly scheduled calendar day each Wednesday, from 9:00 a.m until completion, and a Small Claims session on the third Thursday of each month at 6:00 p.m. It adjudicates civil cases in which the monetary claim is $3,000 or less, all landlord and tenant disputes and all traffic and parking summonses. 

In addition, the Court resolves all misdemeanor criminal cases (where the maximum sentence that could be imposed is one year of incarceration) and conducts the preliminary proceedings in felony cases. It serves the Town of Eastchester as well as the Villages of Bronxville and Tuckahoe. The duty of the Town Justice is to decide matters in controversy in a fair and impartial manner in accordance with the applicable law. 

Patch-2: What do you see as the single most critical issue facing the Town of Eastchester Board in the coming years of the term for which you are running? How could this issue affect your responsibilities as Town Justice?

Porco: Like all other municipal governing boards, the Eastchester Town Board is faced with the difficult task of limiting the cost of government, which is funded principally by the local property taxes, without sacrificing the level or quality of the services it provides. For the Court, this is a particularly compelling issue because both the volume and complexity of the cases it hears has changed dramatically over the years.

In 1992, my first year in office, the average number of criminal cases on the Wednesday calendar was approximately twenty. Today, as a result of more effective law enforcement tools and techniques, and because of the enactment of laws against domestic violence which were previously not in existence, the Court’s average weekly calendar consists of fifty criminal cases.  In spite of this, through the efforts of its dedicated staff and the cooperation of the Town Board, the Court has continued to adjudicate it caseload timely and effectively with only modest increases in its budget.  

Patch-3: Is there anything we haven't discussed that you would like the residents of Eastchester to know about the candidate, Domenick Porco?

Porco: The people of Bronxville, Tuckahoe and Eastchester have given me the honor of serving as their Town Justice for the past twenty years. They now honor me once again by permitting me to serve for an additional four years. My family and I are forever grateful for the privilege.

TOE Justices serve terms of four years. Check back with Patch tomorrow for our interview with uncontested and incumbent candidate for TOE Receiver of Taxes, Rocco Cacciola. Janet Calano's interview, the other uncontested and incumbent candidate for TOE Justice, . Click on the name of the following candidates for their interview: , , , .