When John O’Brien retires as the Cumberland County Registrar of Probate at the end of this year, one of two candidates will take his place.

Democrat Nadeen Daniels, a special projects coordinator for the county, and Republican Jim Hughes, an engineer, are on the ballot for the general election Nov. 8.

O’Brien, 86, has been registrar of probate for eight years. Cumberland County Probate Court handles one quarter of Maine’s probate cases, making it one of the busiest in the state, according to the county. Probate court handles adoptions and guardianships, name changes and wills, estates and inheritance. The registrar manages the probate office, while the probate judge issues rulings on cases.

The job is a full-time paid position with benefits and an annual salary of $47,240.

Daniels, 59, of Portland, currently manages grants and special projects for the county, and she said she would leave that job to run the probate office. She felt the Cumberland County probate office runs smoothly, and if elected, one of her priorities would be preserving the office’s physical records.

Daniels has worked as town clerk in South Portland, assistant city manager in Portland and town clerk in Cumberland. Her experience in those roles has prepared her for this position, she said.

Advertisement

“My entire career — a little over 30 years — has been spent in municipal government at the management level in some capacity,” Daniels said.

Hughes, 72, of Freeport, is a Navy veteran and owns a business that installs temperature control systems. His wife, Martha, works as a clerk in the probate court, and he said her experience has convinced him the registrar’s job should be appointed rather than elected. If he wins the job, Hughes said he would take a pay cut and spend his time fighting in Augusta for that change in the state’s Constitution.

He said the elected position is “too subject to abuse right now,” though he wouldn’t elaborate on any particular concerns.

“As a low-profile job, having it elected doesn’t make any sense,” he said.

Daniels said some primary voters told her they didn’t realize the job was elected, and she would be open to reviewing the job to see if the change would be appropriate.

Should he succeed, Hughes said he would retire and step aside for the appointee of the county manager. His wife’s job in the probate court would be a conflict of interest in the meantime, Hughes acknowledged, but he said he would consult with county officials on how to manage that.

“I’m not really running to get the position,” Hughes said. “I’m running to change the position.”

 


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.