In a July 28 letter to New York County Democratic Leader Herman "Denny" Farrell, Surrogate's Court candidate Milton Tingling said, if elected, he won’t let people who hold positions in the Democratic party to get work through the court.

The letter, which was forwarded to me by the campaign, says:

“Public confidence in the integrity of the Surrogate Courts in Brooklyn and the Bronx have been undermined by allegations and reports of political favoritism in the assignment of fiduciary responsibility for cases that come before the Court.  Those concerns convince me that it is imperative to do all I can to ensure the residents of Manhattan that, if I am elected, politics will stop at the Courthouse door.  read more »

A Manhattan Surrogate's Court candidate, Milton Tingling, is calling on the attorney general to investigate the $225,000 loan received by one of his opponents, Nora Anderson.

The loan was disclosed in Anderson’s campaign finance filing (for the period of January 12-July 11, 2008) and the money came from Seth Rubenstein, an attorney in Brooklyn.

Ravi Batra, Tingling's finance chair, said in a letter to Andrew Cuomo's office, dated today, that the loan could "serve to undermine public confidence" in the court. In a brief interview Batra told me he wants an investigation to "insure that there is no pay-to-play violation, and that all contributions are legal and not criminal.  read more »

David Dinkins has been named campaign chairman for Manhattan Surrogate's Court candidate Milton Tingling. The campaign also announced that Charlie Rangel will serve as honorary chair. Ravi Batra (of Law and Order fame) is serving as the finance chair.

It just adds a bit more name recognition to this competitive, quiet race.

Tingling is running against Nora Anderson and John Reddy.

Manhattan Surrogate's Court candidate Milton Tingling picked up the endorsement of the Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats last night.

His campaign manager, Chung Seto, emailed to say, “Justice Tingling was very pleased and honored to receive this endorsement and is committed to ensuring that everyday people in Manhattan, whether they are Latino, Asian or African American, Gay, Lesbian or Transgender, will get equal access and justice under his tenure as Surrogate Court Judge.”

Tingling is one of three candidates in this quiet, but important (and competitive!) race.

Michael Oliva, the campaign manager for Surrogate's Court candidate Nora Anderson, just emailed to say that Anderson won the endorsement of the Chelsea Midtown Democratic Club.

According to the campaign's tally, that makes 10 club endorsements for Anderson, although the other two candidates--John Reddy and Milton Tingling--have also earned club support in this competitive race. Tingling took the county endorsement.

All three Manhattan Surrogate's Court candidates won something last night when a number of different Manhattan Democratic clubs held endorsement votes, according to two people who work for different candidates.  read more »

The Village Independent Democrats voted last night to endorse Nora Anderson in the Manhattan Surrogate’s Court race.

After two rounds of voting she beat Milton Tingling, eleven to nine, according to Anderson campaign manager Michael Oliva. Another candidate, John Reddy, came in third.  read more »

None of the Manhattan Surrogate's Court candidates won big last night: two of three candidates each took an endorsement from a local Democratic club, while a third club opted not to endorse anyone.  read more »

Tomorrow, a few more Democratic clubs in Manhattan will hold endorsement meetings on a bunch of local races, including the quiet, but incredibly competitive, Surrogate’s Court race in Manhattan.

How competitive is that race? Judging by the hired guns the candidates have, very. (Especially since most folks haven’t even heard of it).  read more »

Here's how longtime political consultant Jerry Skurnik explained why anyone cares who wins the ongoing race for one of two positions on Manhattan Surrogate's Court: “Because a lot of lawyers make a lot of money at the courts."

In particular, he went on, trust and real estate lawyers, "many of whom are politically connected, get really high fees in Surrogate's Court."  read more »