In preparation for a special election to be held this November, the Lyme Democratic Town Committee has announced it will be interviewing four Democratic candidates for the soon-to-be-vacant position of probate court judge on Thursday, June 22, at 8 p.m. in the Lyme Town Hall, during the committee’s regularly scheduled monthly meeting.
The public is invited to attend the meeting and listen to the candidates’ presentations and responses. The four probate judge candidates, who will speak at the meeting are James Carey, Sean Donlan, Jeannine Lewis and Steven Sheehan. Each will deliver a five-minute presentation on their qualifications, then respond to questions from members of the Town Committee during a brief Q & A period.
Probate judges handle such important matters as estates, trusts, adoptions, name changes, and the termination of parental rights and conservatorships, among others. All candidates for the position must be members of the Connecticut bar. The probate court for the district in which Lyme falls is located in Old Saybrook and, in addition to Lyme, serves the towns of Chester, Clinton, Deep River, Essex, Haddam, Killingworth, Old Saybrook and Westbrook.
Terrance Lomme, the current probate judge for the district, is retiring on July 18, 2017.
The four candidates have made – or will be making – similar appearances before other Democratic Town Committees in the district. Each committee will send delegates to a nominating convention to vote for the candidate of their committee’s choice. At this convention, the official candidate of the Democratic party will be selected and announced. The candidate from the nominating convention will go on to compete in a primary on September 12 – if there are other Democratic contenders for the position (who may enter the election by collecting signatures in a petition drive). The winner of the Democratic primary will then go on to face Republican and other challengers in the special election.
The special election for the probate judge seat will be held Tuesday, November 7. Whoever wins the election will serve the remainder of Judge Lomme’s term, which ends Jan. 9, 2019.
The Lyme Democratic Committee’s mission is to support and strengthen the Democratic Party in the Town of Lyme and the State of Connecticut. The committee meets on the third Thursday of every month at 7:30 p.m. in the Lyme Town Hall. These meetings are open to the public and all registered Democrats are encouraged to attend.