MIDDLEBURY – A petition seeking a special election for Middlebury’s open Board of Selectmen seat has been submitted to the town clerk, reopening debate over the January 13th appointment of Selectman Brian Shaban.
The petition, currently being reviewed by the town clerk, must contain at least 345 verified signatures from eligible Middlebury voters to trigger the rare special election. As the verification process is underway, questions have resurfaced about how the January 13th vote was conducted, documented, and later amended under the state’s Freedom of Information (FOI) laws.
Paper Ballots and Amended Minutes
The special meeting held on Tuesday, January 13 saw five town officials vote by paper ballot to fill the vacancy created when Jennifer Mahr moved from Selectman to First Selectwoman following her petitioning candidacy victory. Shaban received three votes, while William Stowell and Dr. Sally Romano each received one vote.
At the time, it was unknown who voted for whom. The group of town officials tasked with appointing a new Selectman 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.
As a result, the initial meeting minutes did not reflect how the officials voted.
According to town officials, the minutes were amended following guidance from the state’s Freedom of Information Commission, which allows for clarification when a public body’s vote is not clearly reflected in the record.
The process of figuring out who voted for whom was done outside the meeting by a process of elimination, as the newly revised meeting minutes state that Shaban received votes from Palomba, Robison, and Barton. Stowell received a vote from Bessette, as Dr. Romano received a vote from Barra.
In the week following the special meeting, both Mahr and Shaban went public with how they sought to remedy the FOI issue – whether it was to let voters have the final say with a special election or whether the amended minutes would serve as the procedural band-aid to the unique circumstance.
Differing Views
The January 13th special meeting came to fruition when the deadline for the Board of Selectmen to fill the vacancy passed just two weeks prior.
Selectman J. Paul Vance was not present for a meeting scheduled to be held the day before the December 31st deadline, and the authority to resolve the issue was subsequently kicked to the group of aforementioned local officials.
The following week, First Selectman Mahr publicly came out in support of a special election to fill the vacancy on the board.
“Although amended minutes were filed, I believe that approach violated the spirit of the law,” said Mahr in a press release dated January 21.
She further stated that the decision to vote by secret ballot at the time put her in an “untenable position” to either “accept minutes that violate FOI requirements or attempt to cure the violation after the fact in a way that undermines transparency.”
In her view, a special election would be an attempt to give the control process back to the electorate and the people of Middlebury.
In response, Shaban strongly rejected that characterization, calling the appointment legitimate and final.
He said that with his appointment to the board, the town has an opportunity to have “the most well-balanced Board of Selectmen ever.”
“She didn’t get the candidate she wanted, so this isn’t about transparency – it’s about challenging an outcome she dislikes, despite her unaffiliated status,” Shaban said in a press release. “To undermine due process is disappointing and beneath our small town politics.”
He further added that undergoing a special election would “needlessly waste taxpayer dollars on a resolved matter” and asked those who had signed the circulating petition to rescind their names from it.
Signatures Submitted
Middlebury resident Dana Shepard sat in a local Dunkin’ Donuts, collecting signatures for the circulating petition, just days prior to the deadline for submitting it to the Town Clerk.
With just two weeks to collect at least 345 signatures, she says that the group of local volunteers went door-to-door and collected “more than the required amount” and “plenty to buffer any signatures that may be invalidated for any reason.”
Shepard recently spoke during a Board of Selectmen meeting, citing her frustration with Selectman Vance’s inaction to resolve the issue at the board level.
With Middlebury having a new top-ranking elected official for the first time in over 30 years, following the retirement of former First Selectman Ed St. John, Shepard says it’s “a big time of change” for the town, with a lot of work to be done in the next few years.
“Our plan of conservation and development has to be done,” said Shepard. “It was actually due last year, and it wasn’t done. We need to take a look at our zoning regulations, and we need to look at our town’s Charter revision.”
With some residents heading south for the winter, Shepard has even mailed copies of the petition to residents who are currently in Florida and Hawaii, asking them to sign the petition, have it notarized, and add it to the list of signatures.
She continues to wonder why the process was punted from the Board of Selectmen to the small group of town officials, who she says were elected and appointed to serve in their specific positions, not to make decisions on behalf of the town’s voters.
A Stymied Administration
As much as it is a change of scenery for First Selectwoman Mahr’s first two months as the town’s top elected official, there is an underlying feeling that has remained with her, one that she says she’s experienced for the last two years on the Board of Selectmen.
Mahr said the situation mirrors her experience as a minority member of the board in her previous term, where she felt her concerns were routinely sidelined.
“The voters have the right to choose their representative, so that’s why I support the special election,” said Mahr. “It’s no different than what I faced for the last two years, right? Because I was in the minority against Selectman Vance and First Selectman Ed St. John. I was on the outside raising issues and concerns, and the two of them just ignored me, stymied me, or did their best to undercut my efforts to do what the voters were asking for.”
“I’m getting the same feeling, just in a different chair,” Mahr added.
What’s Next
If the town clerk certifies that the petition contains the required number of valid signatures, the Board of Selectmen would be required to set a date for a special election. If the petition falls short, Shaban would continue serving the remainder of the term, which runs through December 2027.
Mahr added that the remaining two years of the term is, “a long time for residents to question the legitimacy of the process.”
Shaban called the ongoing petition process a “needless dispute”, while also saying he hopes to collaboratively move forward.
“Despite her inflammatory claims, I hope to work together with the First Selectwoman on the challenges that face our town,” Shaban said.
The deadline to receive the special election petition was 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 28, and signature verification is ongoing. The next Board of Selectman meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 9, at 5:00 p.m.
The Southbury Record 