Reprint of a Comment on the Selection Process for Elected Officials

We are reprinting the following comment by Sandra Coleman because it raises a question about the selection process used to appoint a third selectman.

"Comment: Water and Sewer Non-public Session

August 4th, the Commissioners of the Water and Sewer Department, Chairman Robert Boyle and Alan Cilley called for a non-public meeting to deliberate on the four (4) candidates for the 3rd Commissioner. After the meeting was opened, Chairman Boyle made a motion to enter non-public. Before the motion could be seconded, Paul Branscombe, Town Administrator of Ashland objected. Mr. Branscombe read a passage from Attorney General Kelly Ayottes’ Memorandum of July 15, 2009 which stated: “interviews and deliberations on filling a vacancy in an elected office must occur in public session. Chairman Boyle, after reading the passage, agreed and withdrew his motion to enter non-public
Less than six (6) weeks earlier, the Board of Selectmen, Chairman Jeanette Stewart and Dan Golden, voted to appoint Glen Dion as the 3rd Selectman. There were six (6) other candidates who expressed their interest for this position, myself included. We were not afforded the opportunity to be interviewed or attend the selection process. Where and when did the Board of Selectman make their decision ‘who was to be the 3rd Selectman’? When and where did the selection process take place?
Chairman Stewart, Selectman Golden, and Mr. Dion, all experienced Board of Selectmen, must have known or should have known Attorney General Kelly Ayottes’ 2009 Memorandum in hiring an employee and filling a vacancy for an elected or appointed official. Chairman Boyle, Chairman of the Water and Sewer Department, acknowledged his error and withdrew his motion. The failure of The Board of Selectmen to follow proper procedure in appointing the 3rd Selectman appears grossly unfair, to myself, and all other five (5) candidates. More important, was it legal ??"

Sandra Coleman