 Dear also ran in a Democratic congressional primary that chose the successor to Charles Schumer in 1998, which saw him face three other candidates, including the eventual winner, Anthony Weiner.Dear was a New York Supreme Court judge, elected in 2008 as a civil court judge, in 2010 as an Acting Supreme Court Justice, and in 2015 for a 15-year term as a Permanent Justice on the Supreme Court.Dear contracted COVID-19, during the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, had been sick for weeks, and was on a ventilator.