About Ray Bara

Ray Bara is an experienced attorney running for Oneida County Family Court Judge in the 2024 election. This new judgeship was created by State Legislation passed and signed into law last year. 

Born and raised in Oneida County, Ray grew up in Yorkville and graduated from New York Mills Union Free School District. Aside from his time at Siena College and Albany Law School, he has lived his entire life in Oneida County. He and his wife of 26 years, Mandy, proudly raised their family in Whitesboro where their children, Zachary and Lexie, both attended and graduated from public schools.

Aside from deep personal roots in Oneida County, Ray’s professional qualifications and direct experience in the courtroom make him the ideal fit to serve as our new Family Court Judge.

For the past five years, Ray has led the Oneida County Civil Defender’s Office as an appointee of County Executive Anthony Picente. In this role, he manages seven attorneys and four support staffers as the office represents indigent parents in Family Court and Treatment Court. 

Prior to being appointed to his current role, Ray served from 2001 to 2018 as an Assistant County Attorney in the Oneida County Law Department. During his 17 years in the County Attorney’s Office, he rose through the ranks and held several positions. Most notably, Ray prosecuted juvenile delinquency petitions in Family Court (including three murder trials) and handled cases involving child support and a variety of other sensitive matters.

Early in his career, Ray served as an Assistant Public Defender, handling cases involving indigent criminal defendants in various municipal courts throughout Oneida County. He was also entrusted to handle numerous jury trials in criminal cases.

Working in this variety of roles and appearing in Family Court regularly for nearly two decades, Ray has seen firsthand the incredibly difficult cases that come into this particular courtroom. Children and families often face critical challenges – sometimes the possibility of real danger – in Family Court. It is of the utmost importance that the Judge presiding over these cases is fair, impartial, knowledgeable and compassionate to their circumstances. A wrong decision in Family Court can literally be the difference between life and death.

Considering that the stakes in Family Court can be so high, we need a highly experienced candidate to carry on the tradition we’ve been blessed with in Oneida County – having the highest caliber of Family Court Judges serving on the bench. That candidate is Ray Bara.

Ray is a lifelong Republican and is a member of the Oneida County Republican Committee.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Early Voting will be available from October 26 to November 3.