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Niagara Falls City Court Judge John Mariano told the Reporter last week he intends to retire from the bench on April 29, and said it is his understanding that Mayor Irene Elia will appoint attorney Kathleen Wojtaszek-Gariano to fill out his term.
Wojtaszek-Gariano, who last Friday announced her intention to seek the city court judicial seat as a candidate in the November election, is the sister of Niagara County Republican Chairman Henry Wojtaszek. And ranking Republican sources confirmed Elia's intention to appoint her to the bench.
It will mark the first time in her career that Wojtaszek-Gariano has held public office, a quality that may have endeared her to the novice Mayor.
Since receiving her law degree at Cleveland State University in 1993, Wojtaszek-Gariano has maintained a private practice in Niagara Falls, while at the same time serving as an assistant county attorney and as counsel for the city's Urban Renewal Agency.
She will be up against a formidable challenge in November, when she faces Judge Robert Restaino, who has tried more than 45,000 cases since being elected to the part-time city court judgeship in 1996.
A popular figure from one of Niagara Falls' most prominent political families, Restaino announced his intention to run for Mariano's seat to an enthusiastic crowd of more than 500 Democratic, Republican and Independent supporters in early February.
Mariano could have served out the rest of the year under law, which requires city court judges to retire at the age of 70. Indeed, he was asked by many to do so. He decided instead to retire on his April 29 birthday, and spend the spring and summer golfing at his beloved Frontier Country Club.
In the autumn, he said, he will go back to work, taking cases as a hearing officer in the county.