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MAR 17 - MAR 24, 2015

Danielle Restaino, Running for City Court Judge, and Facing Two Prominent Opponents, Will Hold Event at the Como

March 17, 2015

Danielle Restaino

On Thursday, March 26 - at 6:00 pm, the public is invited to the Como Restaurant to support Danielle Restaino, a Niagara Falls lawyer running for City Court judge.

Ticket prices are $35 per person and $60 per couple.

Restaino, 31, announced on Jan. 17, that she would seek election.

There are two city court judgeships out of four that will be up for election. Judge Angelo J. Morinello will be retiring, having reached the age of 70, the mandatory retirement age for judges in New York and incumbent Judge Mark A. Violante's 10-year term is up this year.

Violante, 64, announced in December he will seek reelection.

Niagara Falls lawyer David G. Boniello also announced - on Mar. 4 - that he too is running for City Court judge.

As it stands, three will run for two city court judgeships.

All three are prominent names from prominent legal families.

Danielle Restaino maintains a general private practice of law at 731 Third Street in the city and is a member of the Niagara County Public Defender staff.

Her father is former City Court Judge Robert M. Restaino who presently maintains a private law practice and is a Niagara Falls School Board Member.

Her uncle is Anthony J. Restaino who is the Commissioner of the Niagara County Department of Social Services.

Violante, a Democrat, has been on the city bench since 1986. He has been chief city judge since 1996 and an acting Niagara County Court judge since 2000.

His brother Michael J. Violante is the Niagara County District Attorney.

Boniello, 62, also a Democrat, is a former Niagara County assistant district attorney who started practicing law in 1979. He has had his own law practice since 1982.

His late father was Ralph A. Boniello, a prominent Niagara Falls attorney. His brother is Ralph A. Boniello III, a state supreme court judge sitting in Niagara Falls.

This will be an interesting race since three of the most influential political and legally connected families in the city will vie for two seats, leaving one candidate behind.

Potential supporters, too, will be placed in awkward positions; almost everyone in the Niagara Falls legal, law enforcement and political circles - those who normally turn out for fund raisers and lend campaign support for judicial races - will know all three families.

Local lawyers in particular will have to be careful in choosing who and who not to support in order to preserve longstanding professional and personal relationships with all three of the renowned legal families - and of which two, or possibly three - depending on the results - will have a family member who is a judge.

For Restaino, she will kick off her campaign at the Como next Thursday. Those seeking to meet Danielle - and learn why she is running and what she believes she can do to ensure justice in the city court of Niagara Falls are invited to join her.

Although the youngest by several decades of the three judicial candidates, Danielle Restaino says she has experience and judgment.

Having served in Niagara Falls City Court as counsel for the poor in felony and misdemeanor matters and now assisting individuals in the courts of Niagara Falls and in Lockport in family law and quasi criminal matters, Restaino has handled a wide array of cases.

At the request of courts at various levels of the judicial system, Restaino said she has been called upon to provide review, evaluation and reports "on complex factual and legal matters to assist the court in deciding complex cases."

Restaino received her law degree from the University at Buffalo Law School and was admitted to the bar in 2010.

She sits on the Board of Directors for Niagara County Head Start.

She is also a life-long resident of Niagara Falls and she credits her late grandfather, Tony Restaino, for influencing her decision to stay and make her career in Niagara Falls.

"I decided very early during my education, that I wanted to obtain my professional degree and make my home and business in Niagara Falls," Restaino said. "We grew up having pride and concern for our city.

"It was never my thought to leave the city and live elsewhere. This is my home, this is where I want to be to help the community and, in this position, I feel that I can do that."

Although a Democrat, Restaino said she intends to file nominating petitions for all major political party lines in the upcoming election.

"The problems of today are more complex with the advent of social media and technology," Restaino added. "I believe my knowledge and experience can bring a unique perspective to the justice system during these changing times in the city and society in general."

 

 

 

 

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