Jim Darcy, former V.S. mayor, nominated for judgeship

Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano finished off 2014 by filling the five District Court judicial vacancies created in the wake of the November elections. The nominees, who still need to be confirmed by the county legislature, included James Darcy, a former Valley Stream mayor and current Town of Hempstead councilman.

“I am pleased to put before the Legislature James Darcy,” said a statement from Mangano, who also appointed private practice attorney Frank Doddato, criminal defense attorney Joseph Giardi, and Town of Oyster Bay Deputy Town Attorney Donna Bifulco Swanson. “A private practice attorney for 34 years, James Darcy has a long, distinguished career in law and public service as a member of the New York State Assembly, Mayor of the Village of Valley Stream and as a member of the New York State Assembly.”

Darcy, a St. John’s University School of Law graduate, served Valley Stream as deputy village attorney and village prosecutor before he was elected mayor, a position he held from 1995 to 1999. During that time, he turned a nearly $1 million deficit into a surplus and invested heavily in local business with projects like the ongoing “Operation Downtown.” After serving as mayor, Darcy was the representative for New York’s 21st Assembly District. He remained in that position for just over one year, when he won a special election for the 3rd Council District seat in November of 2000.

Village Deputy Mayor Victoria Clavin-Higgins said his ability to relate to people from all walks of life would serve him well as a judge.

“I’m glad to see him be named a justice,” said Clavin-Higgins. “He’s going to be terrific. He really is a Valley Stream lifer and understands what it’s like to be from Valley Stream, or be from Long Island. I think he’ll really be able to step into peoples’ shoes, whether they be police, elected officials, prosecutors, victims, defendants — whoever it is. He’s been in this area his whole life and never left. I think that will really serve him, and anyone who deals with him as a judge, very well.”

As mayor, Darcy was also noted for his efforts to hold politicians to a higher standard, Clavin-Higgins said. He enacted the village’s first ethics code for elected officials, and Higgins said that desire to do what’s right will help him succeed in his new role.

“Listen, everyone who is in this line of work are elected officials. That means they’re politicians and they do have to think and act like politicians at certain times,” she said. “But he really is an independent thinker. He’s not someone who twists in the wind based on the trends or outrage of the moment. He likes to identify where there are problems, and no matter who or what is the cause of those problems, he wants to get to the bottom of it and solve it.”