On Tuesday, Nov. 8, Democratic candidate Charles “Chuck” Tiernan III was elected as the next Judge of Probate for District 35, serving the towns of Branford and North Branford.

In the race to seat a new Judge of Probate due to the retirement of Judge Frank Forgione, Tiernan earned 10,013 votes on November 8, giving him the win over the Republican candidate, attorney Al Ippolito, a Branford resident. Ippolito received a total of 9,299 votes across both towns.

Tiernan, a Branford resident and attorney at Lynch, Traub, Keefe, & Errante (New Haven) for nearly 40 years, told Zip06/The Sound on election night he was grateful for the support of all who assisted him in his campaign effort, and for all of the voters who elected him to the role.

Tiernan will be sworn in as District 35 Probate Judge in January 2023. The Branford-North Branford Judge of Probate offices are located in the ground floor level of Branford Town Hall, 1019 Main St.

In an October 2022 candidate interview with Zip06/The Sound, Tiernan said he will bring his decades of professional and personal experience assisting clients, who are often faced with difficult decisions, to the judgeship.

“I think you have to have compassion, common sense, and you have to have competence -- you have to know the law. I think I check all of those boxes,” Tiernan said.

This story has been updated to correct an earlier error in the final tally denoting the total votes received by Tiernan.