While the four-way race for the Democratic Primary for state senate is getting all the attention, there is one other contested primary on the Aug. 26 ballot in Windham County.
The Democrats have a three-way race for Windham County assistant judge as incumbents Patty Duff of Brattleboro, who was elected to her second four-year term in 2010, and Lamont Barnett of Rockingham, who has served since being appointed in 2012, face a challenge from newcomer Paul “PK” Kane.
Alice Landsman and Lynn Russell, both of Brattleboro, are running in the Liberty Union primary. No Republican candidates are on the ballot in that party primary.
Kane said he's throwing his hat in the ring with qualifications that are well suited for the position.
“The assistant judge sits with the presiding judge in probate and family court and does fact-finding on cases,” Kane said. “My experience is my platform.”
With “30-plus” years in social services, and his more recent work through the nonprofit Sentencing Solutions LLC, Kane says he brings a broad understanding of the more complicated family and probate court cases that side judges, as they are also called, will be asked to adjudicate.
“The position should really be apolitical and probably a job that should be interviewed for as opposed to being elected,” he said.
He points out that when two assistant judges disagree with a sitting judge, they can overrule the judge. Part of what an assistant judge does is research and review a case for the judge to consider when making his ruling. Kane says it helps to understand the law and family dynamics, for example.
His degree is in social work and psychology, with graduate studies in social work and counseling. Combined with his work with the state of Vermont in Adult Protection Services as an investigator for the the Division of Family and Child Services, and for various Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont corrections and probation programs, he feels all these qualifications make him the best candidate for the position.
Kane has held a financial interest in PK's Public House Incorporated, in Bellows Falls, since 1989.
Barnett owns the Rock and Hammer in downtown Bellows Falls.
The office of assistant judge has two primary jobs, he said: One is judicial and the other is as county administrator.
“We sit on the bench in Family Court, hearing cases involving divorce, parental rights and responsibilities and relief from abuse. Administrative duties are maintaining county property, including the county courthouse and the Sheriff's Departmemt. This is done by assessing all taxable property within the county,” he said.
In the two years he has served, Barnett said he has logged more than 2,000 hours on the bench. As part of a three-judge panel he has heard, deliberated, and ruled on many issues involving “families, divorce cases that have financial aspect, as well as custody-of-children issues.”
He said he also has heard many cases involving the establishment of parentage, either voluntary or through DNA testing.
In hearing relief-from-abuse cases, Barnett said “we are the front-line team in domestic violence prevention. It is our job to make rulings that keep people safe in the short term and hopefully long term. My nearly three decades of public service, including 14 years of municipal budget preparation, have prepared me well for the administrative duties that accompany the office as well.”
Duff did not return phone or email queries seeking comment for this piece by press time.