Schenectady's first black City Court judge sworn in

PHOTOGRAPHER: Peter R. Barber

Teneka Frost is sworn in Tuesday as a City Court judge.

Share on Facebook

Save

A milestone was reached as Mayor Gary McCarthy appointed the city’s first black City Court judge on Tuesday.

Teneka Frost was sworn in to a standing ovation from the crowd inside the City Council chambers. She was previously the chief administrative law judge for the state Department of State and was director of the state Office of Administrative Hearings.

Frost replaced the vacancy left by now Schenectady County Family Court Judge Mark Blanchfield.

Frost spoke extensively about her family and how her mother and father raised her to be a hard worker, and a good cook as well.

Frost also said with everything the community has given to her, she wanted to make sure she gave back.

Frost did acknowledge she will be the first black City Court judge and how important that is. She said she wanted to make sure children in the community were exposed to everything that goes on in a courtroom, but also that they knew what services were available to them.

It is also important for the government to be diverse and public officials should be representative of the people they serve, she said.

McCarthy said the historic nature of his appointment was secondary to her skill set. He said Frost had the best training and experience out of all of his candidates. Because she was appointed to a vacant position, she will have to run for the position if she wants to remain city judge.

“She’ll do well in the election in November,” McCarthy said.