Two probate judge ceremonies of note. The Chief Justice administers oath to Rosa Rebimbas. A grandfather administers oath of office to his granddaughter.
State Representative Rosa Rebimbas chose not to seek re-election to her safe Naugatuck seat. Instead, she took on fellow Republican and five-term incumbent Probate Judge Peter Mariano as he sought four more years in office. Some of the race was chronicled here and in my Hartford Courant column. WTNH also reported on the August primary contest between the two Republicans.
Rebimbas won the party endorsement, the primary and the general election against Mariano. Though Mariano began May by serving a short sentence for drunk driving and reckless endangerment, he received enough votes at the Republican nominating convention from Middlebury delegates to qualify for a primary. Mariano also won the endorsement of the Democratic delegates in the four-town district to their enduring shame.
The Naugatuck Valley delights in its reputation for a tough brand of politics. Mariano’s jackals did their worst but misjudged Rebimbas. She ran a disciplined campaign, drawing the stark contrast between herself and Mariano. Rebimbas defeated Mariano by a wide margin on November 8th–and then silence. The traditional conversations between an outgoing judge and an incoming one on the state of the court never occurred.
On Wednesday, Rebimbas’s fortitude was subtly recognized. Chief Justice Richard Robinson administered the oath of office to Rebimbas. Mariano’s tenure in office had become a significant embarrassment to the administration of justice in Connecticut. Chief Justice Robinson added his considerable prestige to an important moment.
On Thursday, Donald Deneen, who has been admitted to practice in Connecticut for more than 60 years, administered the oath of office to his granddaughter, Mary Deneen, as the new judge in the Greater Windsor Probate District. Her father, Michael Deneen, is also a lawyer.
Mary Deneen succeeds fellow Democrat Marianne Lassman Fisher, who chose not to seek re-election after 18 years of service. Mary Deneen won the party’s endorsement in May, the primary in August–with nearly 80% of the vote–and the general election by a wide margin.
Voters elected 14 new probate judges in November, the largest class of first term judges since the probate courts were consolidated in 2010. Only three of the new judges are women, Rebimbas, Deneen and Gabrielle Labonte. Labonte defeated incumbent Democrat Leah Schad in the 26th Probate District in northeastern Connecticut.
Published December 30, 2022.