By PAUL BASS | New Haven Independent
Voters who make it to the 10th line of the election ballot on Nov. 8 will continue a tradition dating back to 1666: Electing New Haven’s probate judge.
And they will have a choice.
Two candidates are vying for the chance to succeed retiring New Haven Probate Judge Clifton Graves Jr.: Democrat Americo Carchia and Independent Party candidate Jerald Barber, whom the Republican Party has also endorsed.
The position is Connecticut’s only elected judge position. It’s also in some ways the most Solomonic — making sometimes heart-wrenching decisions about child custody, parental rights, adoption, and guardianship of intellectually disabled individuals. Not to mention approving wills and name changes.
In a campaign debate Wednesday aired on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven,” Carchia said he’s running as a Democrat because he embraces the party’s values of “family, community” and providing for people in need. Barber, previously a Democrat, said he embraces those values, too; he said he’s running as an Independent as a ballot-access issue, because Democratic Party leaders blocked him from having a shot at the nomination. He called probate a “people’s court” with a judge whom the people, not party leaders, should choose.
Both also spoke of how their experience has prepared them for the post. Barber grew up here, is the pastor at a church on Beers Street, and has practiced law for 31 years. “I am connected to this community,” he said. “I’m an experienced attorney. I know the law. I know how to apply it. And I care not only for my clients, but about doing the right thing.” Carchia spoke of focusing on probate matters as an attorney for 28 years. “I have represented children, mothers, fathers, the mentally ill, guardians, conserved persons,” he said.
If elected, Carchia said, he’d look to have more court proceedings return to in-person at the 200 Orange St. court suite rather than remote status. “A trial on camera doesn’t work,” he said. He spoke of involving community groups supporting children with more of the work that takes place in the court, along with connecting people with more information about mental health services and housing. Barber agreed about connecting participants in court matters with information about services. He said that he would look as well to hold public information sessions about probate matters at hospitals, community centers and nursing homes.