Aw, Crap

[plumtreeblossom]

Somebody beat me to the one Justice of The Peace opening in Somerville. In fact, 3 people got applications in before me, so I'm not even first in line. I'm just going to have to wait my turn, which could be a long wait. If I'd been on the ball and gotten the 5 signatures back in November when I got the application, I would probably have gotten it. I put it off because of the holidays, and also because who but me would be interested in doing this? Well, now we know.

There will be a JoTP appointment expiring in April, and another in July. If they aren't renewed, they will go to the people ahead of me, then eventually me but it could be a number of years. The very nice guy in the Governor's Office said my current application will still be good then, and I won't have to re-collect signatures. But patience is not one of my greatest strengths.

*grump*

Comments

[ron_newman]

There's a quota per city? I didn't know that.

I would have gotten back to you with a signature immediately if I'd realized time was of the essence.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Yes. There can only be one Justice of the Peace for every 5,000 residents in a town. At the time when i requested the application form, there was one opening. But I certainly didn't think anyone else was gunning to apply. I bet with the economy, those other applicants were thinking the same thing I was thinking -- a cool side gig that can eventually be built up into a business. Rats!

JoTP

[ka9sqb.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear you missed out on this opening.
However, keep in there and perhaps someone
else will decide they have other things to do.
Ms. Justice Mare ... nice sound to it.
Anon, Don

Re: JoTP

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I'm so disappointed! But its not a lost cause, maybe sometime in the next couple of years I'll get appointed. Hope so, because this is what I want to do as my retirement career.

[beowabbit]

Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry to hear that!

Will you need to contact them again to nudge them about your application if a vacancy comes open, or do they just add you to the list of people to be appointed JPs and appoint people from the top of the list?

[heliopsis.livejournal.com]

Mysteriously, the longest serving Somerville JotP was found dead today, drowned in his bowl of consommé.... Is there a crazed killer on the loose?

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I was actually talking to someone recently about our little theoretical business, too, and they were kinda interested. Though I can't remember who it was, so just as well, I suppose.

Soon, soon!

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I'll probably nudge them come April and July. I get the feeling that the rare appointments will go to the squeaky wheels.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I want to do our business NOW, dammit! Summer wedding season is approaching!

Grumble grumble...

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

In MA, you don't need a Justice of the Peace to perform a wedding, do you? I thought couples could even "solemnize" their own weddings, and thus anyone could perform a ceremony. Or is it not about ceremony-performing? I should really know about these things, shouldn't I?

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

You do need an authorized person to solemize, though as it happens, that can be almost anyone you want, because of a special program that allows anyone of legal age and of clean record to be licensed as "Justice for A Day." There's a bit more than the ceremony to it -- paperwork and such, but if you have a person who isn't otherwise authorized (clergy, JoTP, ship Captain, etc), they can write to city hall for that one day authorization.

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

Ah, OK! Thank you for the info!