'Side' Judge Wants
To Switch Counties
By M. D. Drysdale

Russ Hotchkiss of Chelsea, currently one of the two assistant judges of Orange County, has filed nomination papers to run for the same position in Washington County.

It is believed that this is the first time that a resident of one county has run for assistant judge (also called side judge) of another county. Kathy DeWolfe, head of elections at the Secretary of State's office said she knows of no other such instance.

However, states attorneys living in another county may be elected—indeed, Orange Co. State's Atty. Will Porter is a resident of Windsor County.

Hotchkiss told The Herald that he has researched the issue with the help of the Secretary of State's office and was convinced that a side judge need not reside in the same county.

DeWolfe would only say that she has "no authority not to place him on the ballot … the law is not clear. That doesn't mean I believe he should be on the ballot."

The actual wording of the statue is: "The assistant judges shall be elected by the voters of their respective districts as established by law."

She said that she very much wishes the legislature would clarify the situation.

Hotchkiss told The Herald yesterday that he became interested in the seat because one of the two incumbents, Cindy Cyr, is stepping down, and nobody else seemed to be stepping up. The second incumbent, Barney Bloom, was elected both on the Democratic and Republican ballots in the primary.

Hotchkiss spent 15 years working in Washington County on the Barre police force and enjoyed being an assistant judge in Orange County, so he decided to file as an Independent in Washington County. He said yesterday that he believes that nobody else has filed as an Independent.

However, DeWolfe told The Herald that in fact a Barre City man, Michael R. Zimmerman, also filed for the assistant judge position as an independent. He filed his petition on Friday, the last possible day.

Hotchkiss and Prudence Pease of Tunbridge were both elected first-time assistant judges four years ago, and Hotchkiss confirmed reports that the two have at times had a rocky relationship.

"We have had our differences," he acknowledged. However, he said, "we managed to work them out." The two are now on good terms, he declared.

"There are no unresolved policy issues, even though sometimes it was a huge struggle," he said.

Specifically, Hotchkiss said, he and Pease are in agreement about the proposal that the county purchase the Wellspring School building, if it comes on the market.

The two side judges have spent weeks travelling around the county talking to local selectboards about the county's need for more space.

Hotchkiss also had high praise for Pease's abilities on the bench. "Prudence makes an excellent judge," he said.

Assistant judges sit in court on some cases, but they also administer county business, including facilities and budgets.

More Candidates?

Hotchkiss's decision to try for the Washington County position leaves a potential scramble for the position in Orange County. Prudence Pease is running for office, and was nominated on the Democratic ballot. Joe Anthony, a deputy sheriff in the Sheriff's Department, was nominated on the Republican ballot.

However, Hotchkiss said he understands that two other citizens of the county are expected to file as Independents—John Upham of Chelsea and Dawn Sprague.

The Herald was not able to confirm their candidacies by press time.

Windsor County

Side Judge

Primary Results

Contrary to early reports that were carried in The Herald last week, Windsor County Asst. Judge William Boardman did win one of the two Democratic nominations to keep his position.

First reports last week were that Boardman had come in third in the three-person Democratic primary, as he lost badly in his hometown of Woodstock and neighboring Bridgewater and Pomfret.

However, when all the votes were counted, Boardman beat out Greg Soula of Woodstock, who had been highly critical of Boardman's 16-year tenure.

The top Democratic vote-getter was David Singer, who tallied 2956 votes to 1839 for Boardman and 1725 for Soula. Singer also received 75 write-in votes on the Republican primary, enough so that he will be listed both as a Republican and Democrat on the November ballot.

Republican Kenneth Cooper of Woodstock, the other incumbent, will also be on the Republican ballot.

Thus, it is far from certain that Boardman will be reëlected in November, having to defeat both Singer and Cooper. Singer, like Soula, waged a campaign critical of Boardman's administration of county business, while Cooper supported him.