Orange County Politics Face Off for November

Orange County Politics Face Off for November

The November election line-up for Orange County races became a little clearer this week than at press-time last week.

First, sheriff candidate Emile Fredette, who was defeated in the Republican primary last week by incumbent Sheriff Dennis McClure, decided to file for the November election as an Independent.

He told The Herald this week that he had filed nomination papers in Montpelier last Friday.

"I reviewed where I was at," he said. "I have a lot of support out there, and I feel that I have a lot of good ideas. I'm going to hope for the best."

McClure, if he wants, will be able to run both as a Republican and Democrat. He defeated Fredette 1039 to 482 in the Republican primary and polled 250 write-in votes in the Democratic primary, compared to 112 for Fredette.

Rogers Defeats Stohl

In other County news, the Herald was incorrect in predicting the two winners of the Republican primary for assistant ("side") judge.

Despite strong returns from the Randolph area, Don Stohl of Braintree was actually defeated by Steven J. Rogers of Newbury for the second Assistant Judge position.

Russ Hotchkiss of Chelsea led all GOP candidates with 835 votes, according to the County clerk, but Rogers came in second with 543, compared to 530 for Stohl.

The Herald, on the basis of incomplete returns, last week predicted that Stohl would win the second spot on the ballot.

Hotchkiss and Rogers will face Democrat Prudence Pease in the November election for assistant judge. The assistant judges are the administrative heads for county business.

Besides the contests for sheriff and side judge, two other important elections face Orange County voters in November for positions that are open because the incumbents have stepped down.

For state's attorney—the chief prosecutor of the county—Democrat Eric Lopez of Strafford will face Will Porter of South Royalton. One of them will succeed State's Atty. James McKnight.

For probate judge, a three-person race is in the offing to succeed Judge Shirley Godfrey. The candidates are Independent Charlene Bohl of Chelsea, Democrat Carolyn Adams of Wells River, and Bernie Lewis of Randolph.