David Foley, Chautauqua County district attorney, is running for Chautauqua County Court Judge following the retirement of current County Court Judge John Ward.

Foley is a third generation attorney in Chautauqua County. His grandfather, Albert “Jake” Foley, started practice in Dunkirk in 1930, and his father, Albert W. “Bill” Foley started in 1969. His father was a prosecutor for Chautauqua County for more than 30 years. Foley was admitted to practice law in New York in 1993, after attending Vermont Law where he graduated with honors and received the American Jurisprudence Award in the study of Constitutional Law. He practiced in his family’s firm Foley, Foley and Passafaro until 2005. In 1995 he was hired as an assistant district attorney and prosecuted alongside his father Bill Foley, who retired in 1998. As an assistant district attorney, he worked up from a misdemeanor prosecutor to a felony prosecutor successfully obtaining his first jury trial felony conviction against Hiram Rivera for attempted murder in 2003.

In 2005, Gov. George Pataki appointed Foley as Chautauqua County District Attorney to fill the vacancy left by then District Attorney James Subjack. In November 2005, he was elected district attorney for a four-year term starting Jan. 1, 2006. He has subsequently been elected two more times, receiving not only the Republican nomination, but cross-endorsements from the Conservative Party, the Independence Party and the Democratic Party.

Foley has been serving the residents of the county as District Attorney for more than a decade and said he is hopeful for multi-party support in his bid for Chautauqua County Court Judge.

“I very much appreciate the support of all four parties in my last two runs for district attorney. I consider it an honor that not only my own party has recognized my efforts, but other parties have as well,” Foley said. “The role of district attorney over the last 10 years has prepared me well to serve the residents as Chautauqua County Court Judge.”

Foley’s tenure as district attorney has seen a multitude of cases. He has handled more than 30 new homicide cases since becoming district attorney and has successfully closed two cold case homicides. Most notably, Foley prosecuted the case against Ralph “Bucky” Phillips during his first year in office. He tried an eight-week murder trial against Anthony Robert Taglinetti in the fall of 2013, a five-week homicide trial in July 2014 against Jason Wells and a nine-week murder trial in the fall of 2014 against Davide Coggins, all resulting in convictions.

“I am very proud of my accomplishments as district attorney, but am most pleased by having been able to build a successful office surrounding myself with very capable attorneys and support staff,” Foley said.

Foley looks forward to the run for County Court Judge, saying, “The opening of the County Court judgeship certainly comes at a good time for me professionally, and although it is with mixed feelings having to potentially leave my post as district attorney, I believe that I am the strongest candidate to fill the position of Chautauqua County Court Judge.”