Riverhead attorney Annette Totten has her sights set on making history next month.
Totten, who’s running for State Supreme Court, would be the first African-American woman elected to State Supreme Court in Suffolk County.
A registered Conservative, Totten is running on the Libertarian line.
The Democratic, Republican, Conservative and Independence parties made a sweeping cross-endorsement deal this year: six candidates for six spots on the State Supreme Court will have all four lines on the November ballot.
With that ballot arrangement, Totten knows her bid is a long-shot, but she hopes people will reject the cross-endorsement deal cut by party bosses and exercise their freedom of choice by electing her and Libertarian judicial running-mate, Christopher Garvey.
“I like fairness,” Totten said of her decision to run for judge. “Everyone should be heard and it takes all different types of people to hear everyone because all different types of people are in the judicial system.”
Totten, 51, has been practicing law for 15 years, focusing mainly on criminal defense and family law cases. She attended Touro Law School after earning a sociology agree at Temple University. The 1986 Riverhead High School graduate lives in the Riverhead home she grew up in.
“The reason I became a lawyer is to help people,” she said. “Being a judge is one of the best positions to be in to be able to help people,” she said. “That’s where my heart is. Everyone needs a voice.”
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