Fairfield Probate Judge To Retire In 2025; Special Election Ordered

FAIRFIELD, CT — Fairfield Probate Judge, the Honorable Kathleen N. Maxham, will retire from the bench on Jan. 3, 2025, and Gov. Ned Lamont has ordered a special election to elect a replacement to finish out her term.

Maxham, who has held the post since November 2018, is one of six probate judges in the state who will retire 13 months, according to Lamont, and special elections have been called for all of them.

Fairfield and the other communities will hold special elections on Nov. 5; the terms for Maxham and the other five probate judges are set to end on Jan. 5, 2027.

In Connecticut, the mandatory retirement age for judges is 70. Probate judges serve four-year terms.

Lamont said that he specifically chose to hold the special elections on the same date as the next general election, because doing so will enable Fairfield and the other communities in each of these probate districts to avoid any added costs of holding separate elections.

The winner of each special election will begin serving from the date of the current office holder’s retirement through the end of their current term.

Maxham succeeded Daniel F. Caruso, who held the post from 1995 until his death in 2018 at age 60.

In addition to Maxham, the other probates judges set to retire are:

• Honorable Domenick N. Calabrese, Region 22
• Honorable Barbara Gardner Riordan, Tolland-Mansfield
• Honorable Edward C. Burt, Jr., Hamden-Bethany
• Honorable Joseph D. Marino, Middletown
• Honorable John J. McGrath, Jr., Windham-Colchester