Auburn attorney Norm Chirco announced Tuesday he is not running for Cayuga County District Attorney.
But Michael Bass, a Cayuga County native who moved to St. Lawrence County last year and previously ran for district attorney, said he is thinking about running on the Democratic ticket.
“It is under heavy consideration,” Bass said Tuesday.
Bass expects to make an announcement within the next week. Auburn attorney Dennis Sedor also decided several weeks ago he will not run.
The only announced candidate to replace veteran prosecutor James Vargason is Chief Assistant District Attorney Jon Budelmann, a Republican.
Bass, a former assistant district attorney who worked with both Vargason and Budelmann, made an unsuccessful bid to unseat Vargason in 2003.
Chirco said he was approached by many people in recent months to consider running on the Democratic ticket for the county's top prosecutor post.
It was an “extremely difficult decision because I had to weigh my responsibility to the community against my responsibility to my family,” he said.
With four young children at home, a busy law practice and community involvement with the Weedsport Central School District and the Zoning Board of Appeals, Chirco said that several months of intense campaigning was not something he felt in his heart jived well with his other responsibilities.
He said his priorities are being involved in his children's lives and attending their athletic events and school activities, and that campaigning would take him away from that too often.
“That's a year I can never get back,” he said.
After defending criminal clients and handling other civil matters since 1987, Chirco said it would have been something of a transition to become a prosecutor.
“It would have been a real challenge. I love challenges. I would have loved the opportunity to prosecute rather than defend, but right now I'm happy with what I'm doing,” Chirco said.
Bass said and he and his wife, Christy, have been discussing his possible run for a long time.
They moved in early 2006 to St. Lawrence County, where Bass joined the St. Lawrence County's Public Defender's office and was later promoted to head the office and where Christy became chief clerk for St. Lawrence County's Family Court.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
“It is under heavy consideration,” Bass said Tuesday.
Bass expects to make an announcement within the next week. Auburn attorney Dennis Sedor also decided several weeks ago he will not run.
The only announced candidate to replace veteran prosecutor James Vargason is Chief Assistant District Attorney Jon Budelmann, a Republican.
Bass, a former assistant district attorney who worked with both Vargason and Budelmann, made an unsuccessful bid to unseat Vargason in 2003.
Chirco said he was approached by many people in recent months to consider running on the Democratic ticket for the county's top prosecutor post.
It was an “extremely difficult decision because I had to weigh my responsibility to the community against my responsibility to my family,” he said.
With four young children at home, a busy law practice and community involvement with the Weedsport Central School District and the Zoning Board of Appeals, Chirco said that several months of intense campaigning was not something he felt in his heart jived well with his other responsibilities.
He said his priorities are being involved in his children's lives and attending their athletic events and school activities, and that campaigning would take him away from that too often.
“That's a year I can never get back,” he said.
After defending criminal clients and handling other civil matters since 1987, Chirco said it would have been something of a transition to become a prosecutor.
“It would have been a real challenge. I love challenges. I would have loved the opportunity to prosecute rather than defend, but right now I'm happy with what I'm doing,” Chirco said.
Bass said and he and his wife, Christy, have been discussing his possible run for a long time.
They moved in early 2006 to St. Lawrence County, where Bass joined the St. Lawrence County's Public Defender's office and was later promoted to head the office and where Christy became chief clerk for St. Lawrence County's Family Court.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
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