Three Republican candidates on the Nov. 5 ballot for state Supreme Court judge, Sixth Judicial District, met with members of the local bar, and community and political leaders this morning at The Otesaga, hosted by former assemblyman Tony Casale of Cooperstown. The three candidates, at center, from left, are Mark Masler, Cortland County; Chris Baker, Chemung County (hand on chair), and Oliver Blaise, Broome County. From left are attorney Will Green; Vincent Russo, Bob O’Neill and Carrie Thompson, all of Cooperstown; state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford; Assemblyman John Salka, R-West Edmeston; attorneys Jill Poulson, Bob Poulson and David Clinton; Casale, attorney Martin Tillapaugh, Assemblyman Brian Miller, R-New Hartford, and John Shideler, incoming Otesaga general manager. Masler, Cortland County is a former dairy farmer, Cornell Law School graduate (magna cum laude, 1993) and principal law clerk since 2008 to state Supreme Court Judge Phillip Rumsey. Baker, Chemung County judge, has also served as acting Supreme Court judge. Blaise, Broome County elections commissioner, is a Syracuse University Law School graduate with more than two decades experience in state and federal courts. (Jim Kevlin/AllOTSEGO.com)
