(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he is ordering special elections to be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024 – the same date as the next general election – to complete the terms of six probate judges who will each be retiring over the course of the next year. Five of the six judges are reaching the state’s mandatory retirement age of 70 for judges.
The governor specifically chose to hold these special elections on the same date as the next general election because doing so will enable the municipalities in each of these probate districts to avoid any added costs of holding separate elections for this purpose.
Probate judges in Connecticut serve four-year terms. The terms of all six retiring judges expire on January 5, 2027. The winner of each special election will begin serving from the date of the current office holder’s retirement through the end of their current term.
The probate districts include:
Region No. 22 Probate District
- Towns: Bethlehem, Oxford, Roxbury, Southbury, Washington, Watertown, Woodbury
- Current judge: Honorable Domenick N. Calabrese
- Expected retirement date: August 31, 2024
Fairfield Probate District
- Towns: Fairfield
- Current judge: Honorable Kathleen N. Maxham
- Expected retirement date: January 3, 2025
Tolland-Mansfield Probate District
- Towns: Coventry, Mansfield, Tolland, Willington
- Current judge: Honorable Barbara Gardner Riordan
- Expected retirement date: March 9, 2025
Hamden-Bethany Probate District
- Towns: Bethany, Hamden
- Current judge: Honorable Edward C. Burt, Jr.
- Expected retirement date: March 14, 2025
Middletown Probate District
- Towns: Cromwell, Durham, Middlefield, Middletown
- Current judge: Honorable Joseph D. Marino
- Expected retirement date: May 3, 2025
Windham-Colchester Probate District
- Towns: Chaplin, Colchester, Hampton, Lebanon, Scotland, Windham
- Current judge: Honorable John J. McGrath, Jr.
- Expected retirement date: June 12, 2025
**Download: Governor Lamont’s writs of special election for all six probate districts