(WKTV) - Three local attorneys, including one sitting judge, are trying to crawl through a narrow window of opportunity during next week's primary elections.

Republican Claudia Tenney, Republican Michael Laucello and Democrat Louis Gigliotti, who was appointed to Oneida County Surrogates Court to replace Judge David Murad in March after Murad was elected to supreme court, are all vying for the spot this fall. The seat only opens up every ten years.

The Surrogate Court Judge handles wills, estates and guardian-ships over children and the developmentally disabled, as well as family court cases. For many attorneys, ascension to the bench means a cut in pay. All three candidates in the Surrogate's Court race say the allure is more about personal satisfaction and fulfillment.

"When you're in private practice, you're a paid advocate; you're advocating one side. What's great about being a judge is you get to hear both sides, both advocates speak, and then try to reach the fairest and most just decision under the law," says Democrat, Judge Louis Gigliotti.

"I think really what it comes down to as a judge is you're really just helping someone solve a problem; or a business or a local government or what ever issue comes before your court; it's a problem solving event, it really is," says Republican Candidate Claudia Tenney, whose late father, the Honorable John Tenney, is a former judge.

"I've been a practicing attorney for a long time, over 30 years, and it's the season when I think a judicial role would be a role I would be comfortable with and I think I could make a difference," says Republican candidate Michael Laucello.

The candidates will all be busy on Tuesday. Tenney and Laucello face off in the Republican primary; Gigliotti and Laucello square off in Conservative and Republican primaries. The county Democratic party has endorsed Gigliotti; Laucello has the endorsements of the Conservative and Republican parties.