Candidate Profile: Dan Ross For Southold Town Justice

SOUTHOLD, NY — Suffolk County residents will be hitting the polls soon to elect local representatives.

The race is on in local town and village races leading up to Election Day, which, this year, falls on Tuesday, November 5. Patch asked those running for office to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles in the days leading up to the election.

Dan Ross, 65, of Mattituck, is running for a Southold Town justice seat. His is challenging incumbent Republican Southold Town Justice Brian Hughes.

Ross has been married to his wife Karen for 38 years; they have three daughters: Kaitlin Ross, 35, Jillian Ross Currier, 32, and Megan Ross, 27. He earned a BA at SUNY at Cortland and a J.D. at Hofstra Law School. He is an attorney and has been a partner in Keegan & Keegan, Ross & Rosner, L.L.P. from 1993 until the present. He was admitted to the NYS bar in 1982. Ross served as a Southold Town Councilperson from 2004 to 2007; Greenport Village Attorney from 1991 to 1994; and Patchogue Village Attorney from 1996 to 2000.

Check out Patch's full Q&A with Dan Ross below.

Patch: The single most pressing issue facing our community is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Ross: Administering justice. Administer justice.

P: What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?:

R: Inasmuch as this is a campaign for a judicial position, I will limit my comments to my intentions. I have been a practicing attorney since early 1983 and, in the private practice on the North Fork since 1985. I consider myself a general practitioner with a focus on litigation. I estimate more than 70% of my time over the course of my career has been spent dealing with litigated matters. I have worked in numerous legal fields including: 1) personal injury representing both plaintiffs and defendants — since 1993 exclusively for plaintiffs with numerous jury trials in NYS Supreme Court for Suffolk County. 2) extensive matrimonial and family court trials and cases in my early years. 3) criminal work and trials in the justice courts and county court 4) Bankruptcy 5) Real Estate law, both transactional and litigation 6) Municipal law, having served as the Village Attorney for Greenport and Village Attorney for Patchogue and, four years on the Southold Town Board and represented private clients before planning boards and ZBAs. I have tried cases in the NYS Supreme Court, the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of NY, justice courts on the East End of Long Island, and the Family Court for the County of Suffolk. I have prosecuted numerous appeals to both the First and Second Department Appellate Divisions and have taken an appeal to the NYS Court of Appeals and argued an appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. I have broad experience but, in my opinion, it is my work with and for individuals seeking to navigate our legal system that will make me a good judge, which I hope to be.

P: Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform:

R: Impartiality.

P: What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

R: My record as an attorney and as an office holder per the above.

P: The best advice ever shared with me was ...

R: Golden Rule.

P: What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

R: See above.