HOLYOKE — Although the major draw to the ballot box this election cycle is the race for president of the United States, Hampden County voters will also be choosing the county’s next Register of Probate.
On the Nov. 3 ballot is Democrat Rosemary A. Saccomani, of Agawam, and Independent Lori A. Landers-Carvalho, of East Longmeadow. One of these candidates will replace Suzanne T. Seguin, the current Register of Probate at the Hampden Probate and Family Court in Springfield, who is retiring. Probate and family courts in the state handle matters such as wills, divorces and child support.
In a telephone interview, Landers-Carvalho said she has been working at the court for 16 years, and for about the past two years has worked as the Assistant Register of Probate alongside the current register. She said she worked as one of the deputy assistant registers at the court, as well as a family law facilitator, where she used her skills as a lawyer to help people who were representing themselves navigate the court process.
“I’ve been working in the court system for 30 years,” said Landers-Carvalho, who also speaks Spanish. “As the assistant register, I’ve learned all of the requirements that the register has to do. So I’m the most prepared for that, and I believe, the most qualified.”
A certified family court mediator who runs her own business, Saccomani said she’s worked in the Trial Court for 39 years, including almost 30 years in the probate court which ended upon her retirement in January 2019. She said she became a deputy assistant register in 2001, and a magistrate in the probate court in 2012. Saccomani said she has “the actual hands-on experience of working in almost every capacity in that office, learning from entry-level all the way up to management.”
“I want to be a more active, visible register,” Saccomani said. “I really want to be out there — I want people to know what the office does. I want to bring the office to them.”
As for what her priorities would be if elected in November, Landers-Carvalho said she would continue to make sure that records at the court are kept accurately and are accessible for people when they need them. Another of Landers-Carvalho’s priorities is to continue providing good customer service to those who come into the court. She said she is advocating to expand what types of cases are supported by the court’s electronic filing system, which she said allows people to submit paperwork without having to physically come to the court.
Saccomani said one of her main priorities if elected is to cross-train staff at the court. This way, employees who normally just work in one department will have the skills to handle cases in another department, as Saccomani said the workloads among departments are not evenly distributed. She also said she’s focused on going out into the community to educate about what the probate court does and how it could help them. And similar to Hampshire County, Saccomani said she wants to open satellite offices of the probate court.
In Hampshire County, incumbent Democrat Michael J. Carey, of Easthampton, is running uncontested for Hampshire County Register of Probate.
Michael Connors can be reached at mconnors@gazettenet.com.