MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury has a full Board of Selectmen – at least for now.
On Tuesday, January 13, a special meeting was held to fill the vacancy on the three-member board, where a group of town officials voted by a 3-1-1 tally to appoint Brian Shaban to the board.
The vacancy was created when Jennifer Mahr, elected in November as an unaffiliated candidate, moved from her Selectman seat into the role of First Selectman.
The appointment followed a process that town officials acknowledged is rare, and one that fueled debate over the past few weeks about when and who is responsible for filling the vacancy.
First Selectman Mahr asserts that the issue should have been handled at the board level, as the Board of Selectmen had until a December 31, 2025, deadline to do so, according to the town’s charter.
Mahr cites “deliberate inaction” on the part of Selectman Paul Vance to fill the board vacancy, as the authority to resolve the issue was then sent to the group of town officers, per state statute.
Selectman Vance was not present for a scheduled special meeting to discuss the topic on Tuesday, December 30, and the meeting was subsequently canceled due to a lack of quorum. Selectman Vance cited family obligations as the reasoning for his absence.
In a social media post, Selectman Vance claims that he informed the First Selectman he would not be able to attend the December 30 meeting before an agenda was drafted. Vance, a Democrat, was appointed to the board in May 2023 following the resignation of former Selectman Ralph Barra.
Selectman Vance attended Tuesday’s meeting via Zoom.
Although a new member has been appointed, there is still the possibility of the Town Clerk calling for a special election to be held if a petition is filed within 15 days, and the required amount of signatures are collected.
Tuesday’s Vote
A group of five town officials convened on Tuesday, January 13 and considered a handful of interested people for the vacancy.
Present for Monday’s vote were Town Clerk Brigitte Bessette, Treasurer Ralph Barra, Tax Collector Cindy Palomba, and both of the town’s Registrars of Voters, Nancy Robison and Francis Barton Jr.
The group voted by paper ballot and determined that a simple majority of three votes was needed to fill the role.
Shaban received the three votes needed to be appointed, while William Stowell and Dr. Sally Romano each received one vote.
Shaban, a Republican, was promptly sworn in just minutes later.
“It’s really an honor,” Shaban said.
The veteran is a former member of the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals, and also serves as a Deputy Chief in the Middlebury Fire Department. He also serves as the secretary to the town’s Republican Town Committee.
“When I think of the town, I think of it as having good people and neighbors. I look forward to serving all of them,” Shaban said.
He noted that a prominent issue he would be advocating for is lowering of the town’s Mill Rate to offset increased property reevaluations, aiming to make the town more affordable to live in. The 2024 Grand List Mill Rate for the Town of Middlebury was set at 32.52 mills, meaning that for every $1,000 of assessment, taxpayers pay $32.52.
Shaban’s term would last until December 6, 2027, or until a special election is triggered by a valid petition.
The Middlebury Democratic Town Committee (MDTC) released a statement just hours after Tuesday’s meeting that reads, “Today, five municipal electors made their choice for Selectman through secret ballot, denying the public any ability to see how or why the town government was reshaped. That process violates the basic principles of transparency and accountability that residents expect from their local government.”
The statement continues, “We therefore call for a special election so Middlebury residents, not a handful of officials voting in secret, can determine who represents them. If town leaders are serious about open government, the answer is simple: let the voters decide.”
The Middlebury Republican Town Committee (MRTC) responded with a message on social media saying that the MDTC statement, “misrepresents a standard, legally mandated process for filling a selectman vacancy as outlined in the Town Charter and Connecticut General Statutes.”
“This is not a violation of transparency but a safeguard embedded in law to efficiently maintain government operations without unnecessary disruption or expense to taxpayers,” reads the MRTC statement.
Special Election Possibility
Since the group of town officials filled the vacancy before their January 30, 2026 deadline, there is a 15-day period for a petition to be filed for a special election to be held.
Those filing a petition would be required to gather signatures of electors equal to five percent of the last completed registry list of voters.
In Middlebury, there are a total of 6,857 total active registered voters, according to the Connecticut Secretary of State. A further breakdown of active Middlebury voters shows a majority of unaffiliated voters (2,631), followed by Republicans (2,521) and Democrats (1,607).
Upon filing a valid petition, the Town Clerk would then call for a special election on a date set by the Board of Selectmen.
A primary election in March is also possible if multiple (6 Republican candidacies and/or 7 Democratic candidacies) party-endorsed candidacies are filed by the 15-day deadline.
The next scheduled Middlebury Board of Selectmen meeting is set for Tuesday, January 20, at 4 p.m., and the window for a petition to be filed remains open until 4 p.m. on Wednesday, January 28.
UPDATE: This story was updated with a statement by the Middlebury Democratic Town Committee and a response from the Middlebury Republican Town Committee at 4:15 p.m.
The Southbury Record 