Sitting in his Pine Plains realtor’s office on a cloudy September afternoon, Rich Brenner said that he “has always been something in the community.” Brenner worked for 25 years, in the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy sheriff and detective. He investigated felony crimes and worked closely with the District Attorney’s office.
Brenner was also a longtime member and president of the Pine Plains Hose Company in 2010 and 2011, a Pine Plains Town Board member from 2015 to 2019 and a regular volunteer with the town’s Recreation Department. He is now chair of the Pine Plains Fire District and member of both the Zoning Review Committee and the Community Connections Committee for the Pine Plains Central School District, established just this year. Brenner said that running for Pine Plains Town Justice is “right up my alley” given his law enforcement experience. “When the opportunity presented itself,” he said, “I felt it was a good time to try and jump in.”
The Town Justice Court has jurisdiction over misdemeanors, violations and traffic infractions that occur in Pine Plains, and it handles arraignments in felony cases that arise in Pine Plains as well. It also handles small claims proceedings and landlord-tenant disputes, and has the power to issue orders of protection in domestic violence cases.
When asked about how he would handle the job of town justice, Brenner first responded by saying how he would not do it, citing a judge who said it is about “hammering people with fines, sending people to jail.”
“That is not me,” Brenner said, adding that the job is about “correcting a situation,” getting defendants to see their mistakes so they don’t make them again. He said it is important for people who break the law to understand what they have done, but that the consequences should not always be fines and jail terms. He mentioned community service and other social programs as viable alternatives.
Brenner, who has been endorsed by the Republican Party, said that he is “level-headed”—he can look at all sides of an argument, evaluate them and make a decision based on the facts. He said that people tell him he would be a great judge because he has the ability not to “let what people do bother him.”
Brenner said that a candidate doesn’t need to be a lawyer in order to be town justice. In fact, he said, “Some of the best judges in our county were not lawyers.” He added that in role as a deputy in the Sheriff’s Department he has been in every courtroom in Dutchess County and has a firm grasp on how the justice system works.
Brenner describes himself as “the mediator,” a role he practiced in dealing with myriad disputes among residents as a deputy sheriff and detective. “It’s all about working it out, finding common ground,” he said. Brenner added that he has earned a lot of respect in the community and that people will accept his decisions.
Asked if he anticipates having to recuse himself frequently in cases because of conflicts of interest, he laughed and said, “For the size of my family, it is very probable that would come up.” (Brenner has 11 children in his blended family.) He paused and considered real possibilities, such as if a real estate client appeared before him. Brenner said he wouldn’t recuse himself “just because it is someone I know” and acknowledged that other judges might be more of a “stickler” than he would be. “I can’t see it coming up,” he said.
As a real estate broker with his own practice, Brenner said he has control over his schedule and ample time to devote to being town justice. He said he anticipates that the initial time of his four-year term would be spent “learning the job.”
Brenner was born in Ancram and attended Pine Plains schools. He moved to Pine Plains when he was 19 and has been a resident ever since. He lives with his wife Megan, president of the PTA, and they have children ranging in age from 18 months to 26 years.
The election is Tuesday, Nov. 7. Early voting is from Oct. 28 to Nov. 5. Information about early voting can be found here.