Jan. 29, 2014:  Because of an inadvertent error in communication that occurred before the Bronxville Village Republican caucus, which was held on January 23, Judge George C. McKinnis was not nominated as a Republican candidate for village justice for the March 18 election, although he had expressed his intention to run for a fifth term. As a result, he is running for reelection on an independent line called Bronxville Citizens for Responsible Government. 

Upon realizing that Judge McKinnis had intended to run for reelection, the Republican Committee chair, René Atayan, sent a note to him apologizing for the "miscommunication." Included in her correspondence was a copy of the petition to run as an independent and the information required to meet deadlines and file with the Westchester County Board of Elections.

In a note subsequently sent to MyhometownBronxville, Atayan stated:  

We fully support Justice George McKinnis for Village Judge. Through a miscommunication prior to our caucus, his name is not appearing on the Republican line. As we can't re-do our caucus, we have advised and encouraged him to obtain a ballot line through the petition process. We also encourage people to sign the circulating petitions for his balloting over the next week, as we wholeheartedly support Justice McKinnis and the invaluable work he indeed does for the Village of Bronxville.

After learning that he had not been nominated at the caucus, Judge McKinnis contacted the other two candidates who had been nominated--Anne Poorman and Guy Longobardo--both for Bronxville Village trustee. Both candidates expressed strong support for McKinnis, as did Mayor Mary Marvin, who said: "George McKinnis is a highly intelligent, fair and compassionate judge and our village is beyond fortunate to have a man of his caliber willing to serve his community. I strongly support his reelection."

To get on the March ballot with his independent party (not to be confused with the Independence Party), McKinnis needs to collect a minimum of 75 signatures. Mayor Mary Marvin, village trustees, and other Bronxville citizens have pledged to help McKinnis collect signatures. The petitions containing the signatures must be filed with the Westchester County Board of Elections by no later than February 11, leaving little time to accomplish the feat.

In a statement to MyhometownBronxville, McKinnis expressed hope that Bronxville citizens would act quickly to sign his petition. "Anyone who is a registered voter in the Village of Bronxville, regardless of party affiliation, may sign the petition, except for the 12 people who attended the Republican caucus," he stated. 

Judge McKinnis has been a resident of Bronxville for 31 years. He and his wife, Marlene, have two children, both of whom attended The Bronxville School. He served as legal counsel to the Bronxville Village Zoning Board of Appeals, which he left to become village counsel for Mayor William Murphy's last term. McKinnis then served as village counsel for two terms under Mayor Sheila Stein, following which he was elected village justice for four consecutive four-year terms. He began his tenure as a Bronxville Village justice in 1998.

In addition to his many years of service to Bronxville Village government and the Bronxville Village Court, Judge McKinnis is president of the Bronxville Beautification Council and past president of the Bronxville Rotary Club. He is also secretary and counsel to his district Rotary organization. He is the current president of the Westchester County Magistrates Association, which is composed of town and village justices throughout Westchester County. 

He graduated from Oklahoma University and Michigan Law School and is in private practice with offices in Connecticut and Bronxville, concentrating on technology matters and companies, including technology startups. 

Pictured here:  Judge George C. McKinnis.

Photo by N. Bower