Glassman wins write-in for curious county seat

Two men, both Republicans, each waged a write-in campaign to earn their party’s nomination to run for the role of register of probate for Belknap County. Yet their views on the office could not be any more opposite.

Voters chose to re-elect the incumbent candidate, Alan Glassman of Barnstead, who has filled the role for several terms. He received a total of 209 write-ins among all towns in Belknap County, with Norm Silber of Gilford coming in second place with 134 votes.

“It’s a useless position. It should be eliminated from the Constitution,” said Silber, a former state representative who sponsored a bill that sought to do exactly that. The bill passed both houses of the state Legislature, but when it went before the general electorate in 2022, it received 62.9% of voter support, just short of the 66.6% needed for passage of a constitutional amendment.

Those who advocate for abolishment of the office say it’s an obsolete role, one which doesn’t currently benefit the public in any meaningful way.

That’s Silber’s view, who said he campaigned on exactly that message.

“I said to people that I would work to try to eliminate it as a position,” he said, when asked why he mounted his write-in campaign.

It isn’t the view, though, of Glassman, who said he had planned to retire from the role after his current term, only to have second thoughts after the filing period had passed.

“I honestly didn’t think it would amount to anything,” Glassman said of his write-in campaign. “I was quite surprised to see the results.”

The probate system, which largely deals with wills, trusts and estates, has been part of the judicial branch since a 2011 reorganization. Glassman acknowledged the role has limited function, but sees potential for it to become more useful.

“The people who are registers of probate have not been taught very much at all. We can do the best we can to answer some basic questions, we would like to point people to the correct direction, then it’s up to them to talk to an attorney or someone at the county office,” Glassman said.

Without a challenger on the Democratic side, Glassman is likely to be elected to another two-year term as the county’s register of probate.

“It remains to be seen what our scope is going to be,” Glassman said. He said he favors strengthening the role, rather than eliminating it, by providing the registers of probate with training. He suggested law schools, perhaps, could provide some training, for example.

“If anything, it might help registers to understand more, and we’ll go from there.”

Glassman said he’s “very pleased” to be nominated for another term, however the role might develop.

“I wanted to thank all the people who voted for me, who wrote me it,” Glassman said. “That was wonderful of them and I appreciate it.”