In a Civil Court election desert that is virtually bereft of competitive races among the big boroughs, Staten Island resembles an oasis of democracy. Civil Court candidates in Brooklyn and Manhattan could relax after receiving the judge-making primary nod from the Democratic Party — Queens and the Bronx had no Civil Court primaries this year — but two Richmond County candidates have only begun to fight.

This November, attorney Mary K. Dollard faces off against former Family Court judge Ralph Porzio, competing to fill an island-wide seat on the Civil Court. “Staten Island doesn’t always follow party lines,” explained Porzio. “For us, essentially it’s an all-or-nothing election.”

Unlike the Democratic Party’s monopoly in Brooklyn or Manhattan, Staten Island’s political structure hinges on five parties with pockets of control. Candidates are allowed to receive multiple endorsements.

While Dollard did not return calls for an interview, her campaign consultant, Ernest Lendler helped illuminate the race. Lendler is the head of the consultancy firm Branford Communications, and he’s handled scores of political races around New York.  

Lendler painted the Staten Island political map in a few strokes: “The south shore has a Republican bias, and the north shore has a Democratic bias. It swings back and forth. Staten Island voted for Reagan, but they also voted for Kerry. These are real elections.”

The race divided logically before the primary: Porzio secured the endorsement of the Republican and Conservative parties, while Dollard had nods from the Democratic and Working Family parties.

Dollard bested Porzio, however, in a close primary battle for the Independent Party, winning the nod by fewer than one hundred votes. That imprimatur could bring Dollard a few hundred extra votes. (Note: The margin in the 2005 borough president race was about 4000 votes.)

Newly archived financial disclosure forms at the state Board of Elections also provide insight.

According to filings at the state Board of Elections, the Committee To Elect Kim Dollard Civil Court Judge has raised $82,779, and the Committee to Elect Judge Ralph Porzio for Civil Court has raised $24,111.

As of the mid-September filing, Porzio’s committee had spent $10,451, leaving less than $14,000 remaining in his campaign coffers. “We’re a volunteer campaign here,” he said, noting that his treasurer and campaign manager are working pro bono.

On the other hand, Dollard had spent $24,500 on her campaign — leaving $58,000 for her fight. Her consultant Lendler saw many more expenses in the future: “We’ll do mail, newspaper and cable advertisements,” he said. “And lawn signs. On Staten Island, you must have lawn signs, otherwise people don’t believe that you’re really a candidate.”

So far this year, the committees for Dollard and Porzio have filed four out of the six required forms that the Board of Elections uses to keep track of campaigns. According to the campaign financial disclosure form for local filers, they will file additional reports pre-election, and post-election.

According to Lendler, Staten Island counts four Civil Court seats. While there is a “real election” for this Civil Court open spot this year, the candidates are hobbled by a maze of campaign ethics guidelines for judges, preventing them from holding any sort of political platform.

The 2006 Judicial Campaign Ethics Handbook states: “Campaign materials may include a truthful, dignified discussion of the candidate’s qualifications and the qualifications of his/her opponent(s), but may not, in the guise of discussing qualifications, make a prohibited statement as to positions on disputed legal or political issues.”

Accordingly, both candidates only stress past legal experience in interviews and avoid politically charged statements. Compared to the rabid rhetoric fired off in campaigns for other offices around the state, these judicial races can seem hollow and tame.

While he wouldn’t discuss politics, Porzio admitted that these close races are rare for judicial elections in New York state, Staten Island included. Richmond County is part of the Second Judicial District — the Supreme Court district with 52 authorized Supreme Court spots, all controlled and selected by the Democratic Party in Brooklyn.

“As a Republican, it would be very difficult to run as a Supreme Court candidate on Staten Island. You couldn’t win,” said Porzio, hoping that someday the state legislature will grant Staten Island it’s own unique status as an independent judicial district.

“We have a half million people out here, we deserve our own judicial district.”