To say that Mineola resident Scott Fairgrieve has had a lot on his mind in recent days may be an understatement. As chairman of the Mineola Mustang Run Committee, Fairgrieve has been busy organizing the biggest fund raiser of the year in Mineola, which will take place on Sunday. Through all the hard work campaigning for an elected office takes, Fairgrieve has also had his wife Linda on his mind. Linda, a trustee of the village, will be undergoing heart surgery.

Through all that has been going on in Fairgrieve's life, he scored a major victory in his professional career when, on Election Day, he was elected to a District Court Judgeship in the 3rd District, which encompasses the entire Town of North Hempstead.

Last week, Fairgrieve was busy cleaning out his law office in preparation for his new position. Next month he will attend preparatory classes in Tarrytown for judges-elect. In shutting down his practice, the victory finally sunk in. "I'm very proud to be elected and I want to thank everybody who volunteered and contributed to the campaign," he said.

With two seats open, and four candidates, Fairgrieve collected the most votes with 43,194. Fellow Democrat Jonathan Kaiman collected 43,098 while Alan Reardon collected 32,712 and Barry Dennis collected 32,260. Within Mineola's election district's 18-32, Fairgrieve collected 3,230 votes.

As a district court judge, Fairgrieve will be handling misdemeanor-type cases, larcenies, drunk driving, minor drug cases, small claims cases, as well as cases involving tenant and landlord disputes.

"I'm looking forward to sitting on the bench, listening to both sides and coming to a fair decision," he said.

Fairgrieve served as trustee of the Village of Mineola from 1982 to 1994. He said his time as a trustee has prepared him well for a judgeship. "I like to listen to people and make decisions. As a trustee, you have to listen to people, evaluate and make decisions," he said. "I like working with people."