Incumbent Republican Carol Lovejoy is facing competition from Democrat Allen Sicard for York County register of probate, covering all 29 towns.

Lovejoy, 55, is a resident of Kennebunk. She has been in a domestic partnership with Tom Bragg for 10 years, and has two adult children and two granddaughters.

She has been employed with the Registry of Probate office for 37 /2 years in multiple positions, the last 12 of which has been as register of probate.

Sicard, 59, has been married for 35 years to Mary Kiely Sicard, and has two adult children. He has a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University, and an MBA from the University of New Hampshire.

Sicard is the owner of Rocky Coast Marketing. He previously managed cable advertising sales and has worked in television; he worked for WGME Channel 13 and began his career in radio news. He has also worked on political campaigns and as a political consultant.

Sicard said the citizens of York County deserve professionalism in the Probate Court.

“I am the only candidate who can work with the present (probate) judge or either of his two opponents, if they should win,” he said.

“Presently, the working relationship between the register and judge is toxic,” he said. “My opponent has asked communication to her from the judge to go through the county attorney – this needs to change. She has been part of lawsuits against the judge, which have been thrown out of court.”

Lovejoy said she has retained “a wealth of information” regarding probate proceedings, forms, rules and statutes due to her many years of employment with the registry.

“I have the experience, knowledge, temperament and willingness to work hard to ensure that the users of the registry and court as well as the staff have a resource for information and guidance in navigating through the probate process,” she said.

Lovejoy said one of her priorities is making sure the users of the registry and the court are consistently treated fairly and promptly, and with compassion and respect by all members of the probate staff.

She added that it’s important a register of probate be available to the public and staff to guide them through proceedings and have the ability and resourcefulness to obtain necessary information.

Lovejoy said it’s also important that the register of probate have the ability to work cooperatively and professionally with staff, all other county employees, department leaders, the county manager, the county commissioners and the probate judge.

Sicard said the family issues handled by probate are critical to those being affected, and to society in general.

“A backlog of, in some cases, several months, is unacceptable,” he said.

Sicard said the caseload has grown and cannot adequately be handled by eight court dates a month.

“If elected, I have a plan to increase those dates without raising the $600,000 budget,” he said. “I will recommend to County Commissioners, immediately after the election, that extra court dates be paid for with a reduction in salary for the register – my position – and the deputy register, whom the register appoints. This will allow more court dates for whomever is elected as judge.”

Lovejoy said her top priority if re-elected is to maintain the high level of service that is expected and currently provided.

“I will continue to search for ways to make the probate process more efficient and understandable for everyone faced with a life-changing event, whether it be death or incapacity of a beloved family member, providing a safe living environment for a minor child, a name change for themselves or a dependent, or an adoption of a new family member,” she said. “I will continue to maintain the probate documents dating back to 1687 to ensure that future generations have access to historical family records.”

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.