Mike Goddeau (Provided photo)

Mike Goddeau, the town of Wilmington’s recently-elected judge, is new to the courtroom and excited to learn the ropes.

Goddeau, 42, will replace current Judge James Selkirk, whose term expires at the end of this year. Selkirk was first elected as judge in 2018 after being appointed several months prior in the place of Robert Kirby, who had moved away. Goddeau’s four-year term begins on Jan. 1, 2023.

Since no one petitioned for a spot on Wilmington’s ballot for town justice, Goddeau won his seat with write-in votes. Goddeau received 45 out of 56 write-in votes for town judge, according to unofficial election results from the Essex County Board of Elections. The next-highest vote-getters for judge were Favor Smith and Kevin Prickett, who each got two votes.

Goddeau said he didn’t campaign for the judge seat — he said he didn’t know that Selkirk wasn’t running for reelection until a few weeks before the election. But Goddeau talked to a few people who thought he’d be a good choice for judge, so he “threw (his) name out there” to some friends as a write-in option. Those friends spread the word, Goddeau said, so “it just happened to work out.”

Selkirk didn’t petition for a spot on the ballot, and he didn’t run a write-in campaign for reelection. Selkirk announced that he wasn’t running for reelection about a month before Election Day, according to an Oct. 13 social media update from town Supervisor Roy Holzer.

Goddeau, a Lake Placid native, has lived in Wilmington for more than five years. He’s the current vice chairman of the town’s zoning and planning board, which he’s served on for the last four or five years. Goddeau has worked for the village of Lake Placid’s highway department for the last 17 years.

Goddeau’s wife, Mindy, is treasurer for the village of Lake Placid. She’s also secretary of Wilmington’s planning and zoning board, according to Goddeau.

“We try to get involved where we live,” he said.

Goddeau said he doesn’t have any court experience, but he’s involved in the Wilmington community and he’s ready to take court training courses, work with Selkirk through his transition as judge and “give it a go.”

Goddeau hasn’t set any goals for his term yet — he’s looking at these next four years as a starting point in his career as a judge. Right now, he’s focusing on learning court procedures.

“I’m interested to learn and see where it goes from there,” he said.

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Selkirk is saying goodbye to his judge seat because he’s ready to retire.

“I thoroughly enjoyed and was proud to represent the people of Wilmington as their judge,” he said. “But I’ll be 75 in April, and it’s time for me to relax.”

Originally from Long Island, Selkirk owned restaurants downstate before he and his family made their way up to Wilmington. Before he was town judge, he served as a town justice in Jewett, New York for several years.

Selkirk said he’s “honored” to help Goddeau “slide into the position” as town judge for the first couple of months of 2023 — watching over court proceedings as Goddeau learns and giving advice where he can. Selkirk said Goddeau will attend a week of court training school in December. Then, Selkirk said, they’ll have a few weeks to sift through paperwork together before the new year starts.

Selkirk thinks Goddeau is a good fit for the job, especially since he’s worked for a local government for nearly two decades.

“He’s a level-headed guy,” Selkirk said of Goddeau. “I don’t think the position will become a power trip, and he’s a local fella. People know him. He’ll definitely be a plus for the town of Wilmington, in my opinion.”

As a judge, however, Selkirk said Goddeau will have to learn how to completely separate his opinions from the rest of Wilmington’s government.

“You don’t answer to anybody but the court system,” Selkirk said. “I think he gets that. He’ll do a good job of representing the office. I don’t see him being biased or prejudiced in any way, shape or form. I don’t think I could have hand-picked a better guy if it was up to me to do the picking.”