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Thomas Hoye Jr. and Melanie Layden are on the ballot again for Bristol County register of probate

The same two Taunton residents ran for the office in 2020. The winner serves a six-year term, starting in January, as keeper of the Probate and Family Court's records.

By the SC360 Town Hall Desk | Published Oct. 31, 2026 | Last verified Oct. 31, 2026, 1:05 a.m. ET

SOUTH COAST Voters in Bristol County will choose a register of probate on Tuesday from the same two names they saw in 2020: Register Thomas Cleary Hoye Jr., a Democrat running for re-election, and Melanie Patenaude Layden, who is listed on the ballot as an Independent. Both live in Taunton.

The winner serves a six-year term that begins Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2027, the first Wednesday of the year after the election, under state law. The race is on the ballot in all 20 cities and towns in the county, among them Taunton, New Bedford, Fall River, Acushnet, Dartmouth, Dighton, Fairhaven, Freetown, Rehoboth, Somerset, Swansea and Westport. Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester and Wareham are in Plymouth County and elect that county's register instead.

What the register does

The register works for the Bristol Probate and Family Court, which state law gives jurisdiction over wills and the estates of people who lived in the county when they died, guardianships and conservatorships, adoptions, name changes, divorce, health care proxy disputes, and the custody, support and paternity of children.

Under Chapter 217 of the General Laws, the register has custody of all of the court's books, documents and papers, whether on paper or electronic, and must preserve them. The register may accept complaints, petitions and applications for filing and issue the court's notices, summonses and citations, as well as the warrants, letters and licenses that carry out a judge's orders. The register may also appoint appraisers for inventories filed with the court and handles other duties the law or the judge assigns.

The state pays the salary, which the law sets at 81.57% of the salary of the Probate and Family Court's chief justice. The same section requires registers to give their entire time during business hours to the job and bars them from practicing law.

The registry's main office is at 40 Broadway in Taunton, with satellite offices at 289 Rock St. in Fall River and 505 Pleasant St. in New Bedford. It also runs a virtual registry by video and phone from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.

The candidates

Hoye has held the office since 2019. Gov. Charlie Baker named him interim register that August, while Hoye was in his eighth year as Taunton's mayor, to fill the term of Gina DeRossi, who had left to become court administrator of the Appeals Court, State House News Service and CommonWealth Beacon reported at the time. Before he was mayor, Hoye served on the City Council and taught in the Taunton Public Schools, those reports said. He won a full term in 2020, and the Secretary of the Commonwealth's election statistics show he had no opponent in this year's Sept. 1 Democratic primary, receiving 40,908 votes.

Layden lists her occupation as a self-employed lawyer in her campaign finance reports. She ran for the office in 2020 as an unenrolled candidate, and this year's ballot lists her as an Independent. Her current campaign committee was organized June 17, according to the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance.

The 2020 race

Hoye won six years ago with 139,001 votes, or 57.5%, to Layden's 102,030, or 42.2%, the state's official results show. Another 638 votes went to other names, and 39,695 ballots were left blank in the race.

Layden carried Berkley, Freetown and Rehoboth. Hoye carried the other 17 communities, including New Bedford, 20,063 to 10,459; Fall River, 16,967 to 10,107; and Taunton, 15,557 to 8,459. The closest result was in Freetown, where Layden led 2,455 to 2,340, and Hoye's narrowest margin came in Acushnet, 2,693 to 2,553.

Campaign money

Hoye's committee began 2026 with $58,164.96 and had $35,064.90 in its account on Sept. 30, after taking in $4,350 and spending $27,450.06, according to its monthly bank reports. Its largest payment was $13,493.75 to Clear Channel Outdoor in June, and it reported $5,000 for radio advertising on WSAR in July. The committee deposited another $10,100 on Oct. 10.

Layden's committee had $267.65 in its account on Sept. 30. Every dollar it took in through that date came from Layden, a $100 contribution and $435 in loans, according to its bank reports, and it spent $100 on a treasurer's stipend and $167.35 on printing. A separate report lists $157.80 in postage from March and April, before the committee was organized, and Layden lent the campaign another $150 on Oct. 8.

Before you vote

Polling places, ID rules and provisional ballots are covered in SC360's Election Day guide for South Coast voters.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.

Notes

Every fact comes from the official Taunton and Dartmouth ballots for Nov. 3, Chapters 215 and 217 of the General Laws, the Bristol County Probate and Family Court registry's website, the Secretary of the Commonwealth's election statistics for the 2020 general election and this year's primary, and the campaign finance reports both committees filed with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance. The 2019 appointment comes from State House News Service and CommonWealth Beacon, each reporting the governor's announcement. We read them on Oct. 30 and Oct. 31, 2026, and recomputed every total and percentage. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar.

Corrections

No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.

Sources (11)

  1. City of Taunton: Sample Ballots, Nov. 3, 2026 State Election (13 pages, three ballot styles)Register of Probate, Bristol County: THOMAS CLEARY HOYE, JR., Democratic, Taunton, Candidate for Re-election; MELANIE PATENAUDE LAYDEN, Independent, Taunton. Read Oct. 30 and Oct. 31, 2026.
  2. Town of Dartmouth: official early and absentee ballot (sample), Nov. 3, 2026Same Register of Probate lines as Taunton. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
  3. Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 217, Sections 4, 15, 21, 22 and 35A: registers of probateSix-year term from the first Wednesday in January; custody of records; filings, notices and citations; process, letters and licenses; appraisers; salary and full-time rule. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
  4. Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 215, Sections 3 and 4: Probate and Family Court jurisdictionWills, estates, guardians and conservators, adoption, name changes, divorce, health care proxies, custody, support and paternity. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
  5. Bristol County Probate and Family Court Registry: Find Us, home page and Cities and Towns We ServeMain office 40 Broadway, Taunton; satellites 289 Rock St., Fall River, and 505 Pleasant St., New Bedford; virtual registry 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.; 20 communities served. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
  6. Secretary of the Commonwealth, election statistics: 2020 Register of Probate, Bristol County, general election, Nov. 3, 2020Results by city and town; candidate pages for Thomas C. Hoye, Jr and Melanie Patenaude Layden. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
  7. Secretary of the Commonwealth, election statistics: 2026 Register of Probate, Bristol County, Democratic primary, Sept. 1, 2026Thomas Cleary Hoye, Jr, 40,908 votes, no opponent. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
  8. Office of Campaign and Political Finance: Hoye Committee bank reports, January to September 2026, and deposit report of Oct. 10, 2026Report ids 1011392, 1014719, 1019033, 1023556, 1027221, 1031845, 1035446, 1041666, 1044796 and 1047795. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
  9. Office of Campaign and Political Finance: Layden Committee bank, initial, external activity and deposit reports, 2026Report ids 1032406, 1034873, 1034590, 1041606, 1041614, 1045584 and 1047216 (the amended July and August bank reports are used); committee organized June 17, 2026. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
  10. State House News Service, published by WBSM: Hoye Appointed Register of Probate, O'Connell Enters Mayoral RaceAug. 6, 2019. Baker named Hoye interim register to fill the term of Gina DeRossi; quotes Baker's statement on Hoye's teaching in the Taunton Public Schools. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
  11. CommonWealth Beacon: Baker pulls switcheroo in TauntonAug. 6, 2019. Baker appointed Hoye interim register; Hoye was mayor for eight years and earlier served on the City Council and as a teacher. Read Oct. 31, 2026.

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