by Jay Lawson
Candidate: Bill Hasenauer
Bill Hasenauer has announced that he is running for Town Justice in the Town of Forestport and will be on the Republican and Independence primary ballots on Thursday, September 10th.
Hasenauer is no stranger to elected office, having served as Oneida County Sheriff from the mid-’70s through 1990, when he retired from law enforcement.
He returned to public service in 2000, when he began the first of five non-successive, two-year terms as Town of Forestport Supervisor.
“I want to thank the voters of Forestport for supporting me in the past, and hope they will continue to support me in my new venture as Forestport Town Justice of the Peace,” Hasenauer said.
“I feel that I am very qualified for the job. Law enforcement has been a big part of my life,” he said.
Hasenauer said his 35-plus year career in law enforcement began in 1956.
“I worked as deputy sheriff on the highway [patrol]. I reached the rank of sergeant, then criminal investigator for the Oneida County Sheriff’s office. I left for a short period to be Chief of Police in Oriskany after taking a [civil service] exam. Then I went back to the Oneida County Sheriff’s Department as undersheriff, and later became sheriff,” he said.
This experience has familiarized Hasenauer with functions of the court system, he said.
“I’ve been in every court there is,” he said.
“I’ve worked with several district attorneys, and I’ve worked with public defenders and also private attorneys, so I definitely know their feelings on what should be done on the court. And I’m open to any suggestions that would make things right,” Hasenauer said.
Hasenauer said he has a history of functioning well with others.
“[As sheriff] I had 300 employees, and none of them were disappointed in me in how I provided service to them and service to the public,” he said.
He also knows Forestport, he said.
“I know the problems of our area and know the codes of the Town of Forestport. So I feel I am very strongly qualified for [Town Justice].”
From the legal end of things, Hasenauer’s time away from law enforcement is sure to necessitate a little updating, he said.
“Things have changed. Laws have changed. I’m pretty well up to date on laws, but there’s some things I’m going to have to learn. I’ve been out of it for a few years, since 1990, so I’ll openly admit I’ve got to learn…the changes—especially
with the drug laws,” he said.
But Hasenauer said he is more than ready to go.
“Law enforcement and the judicial system have always interested me. I enjoy it and have always enjoyed it. No matter what the position in law enforcement, there are always challenges. And I like the challenge. I like to work,” he said.
Hasenaur said he wanted to address speculatio
n that he would appoint his wife as his court clerk.
“She’s not going to be my clerk,” Hasenauer said
, adding that, if he were to win election, he has someone in mind for the job who is very familiar with the town courts.