Woodbine Mayor ‘Surprised’ Long Serving Judge Was Replaced

WOODBINE– Judge Richard Russell presided over municipal court cases in the Borough of Woodbine for the last 18 years. During Thursday’s council meeting Russell met the same fate as the borough’s former prosecutor Michael Benson, who also had 18 years with the court and was removed.
Benson was removed from his municipal prosecutor job as well as borough solicitor in 2008. Russell’s removal came from the same council members who ousted Benson.
Benson would later challenge one of the councilmen responsible for his removal in the 2009 Republican primary, winning the seat Council President David Rodriguez held and was up for re-election. Benson was later elected to council in the general election on Nov 3.
Mayor William Pikolycky reappointed Russell at Thursday night’s meeting. Councilman Anthony Saduk and Eduardo Ortiz voted in favor of the appointment.
Council President David Rodriguez, Councilmen Clarence Ryan, Louis Murray, and Douglas Watkins voted no.
Watkins then appointed Christopher Robertson for the position of municipal court judge. Ortiz voted no and said Russell was a “great judge that has served us for the past 18 years” Ortiz went on to say there was no reason for the change. Saduk also voted no. Rodriguez, Ryan, Murray, and Watkins all voted in favor of Robertson.
Pikolycky and Ortiz said after the meeting the removal of Russell and appointment of Robertson was a “surprise.” Pikolycky said Russell ran a professional court. “He received high marks, he had a good record over the last 18 years, there is no reason to remove him,” he said.
Pikolycky said they were never given a resume to look over Robertson’s qualifications.
Ryan says he told the mayor two weeks ago they would be making an appointment. Ryan said they removed Russell because they felt he acted unprofessionally when he didn’t try to accommodate the schedule of Mary D’Arcy Bittner, their appointment for prosecutor, when they removed Benson in 2008.
Bittner later resigned after she was unable to agree to an amicable scheduling agreement with Russell, and Pikolycky told the media he was not pleased with her performance.
Ryan said there were other reasons for the removal of Russell but would not specifically comment on what those reasons were.
Rodriguez and Watkins had no comment. Murray was not immediately available.
Related Article: Benson Replaced as Woodbine Solicitor, Prosecutor