LTE: A call for a Special Election to fill the Fairfield First Selectman Vacancy

To the Editor:

A CALL FOR A SPECIAL ELECTION TO FILL THE FAIRFIELD FIRST SELECTMAN VACANCY

Fairfield is facing the unprecedented occurrence of a vacancy in the office of First Selectman due to the tragic and untimely death of Bill Gerber.

With more than two years remaining on the First Selectman’s term in office, the vacancy should be filled through a Special Election process as provided by law.

The process to fill the vacancy is set forth in both the Town of Fairfield Charter and Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 146.

More specifically, the Town Charter provides for a replacement to fill the vacancy in the First Selectman’s Office by a unanimous vote of the remaining selectmen, within thirty days of the vacancy occurring. The remaining Fairfield Selectmen are Christine Vitale and Brenda Kupchick.

The Town Charter also provides that if there is not unanimous consent to the replacement nominee the Connecticut General Statutes Section 9-222 shall apply.

This law states that the next step in the replacement process prescribes that certain Democrat elected officials from the Town of Fairfield select the replacement. However, this law also provides that a petition for a special election can be filed with signatures from five percent of the registered voters in Fairfield.

Many have publicly decried Brenda Kupchick’s unwillingness to annoint or appoint Christine Vitale to the First Selectman’s Office. Some have even pleaded that Kupchick’s refusal to “install” Ms. Vitale to the office is obstructionist.

In fact, Ms. Kupchick has publicly stated that she does not feel that the replacement to fill the vacancy should be decided by one person, namely herself.

This is a smart, reasonable and responsible position to take as the successor to Office of First Selectman is an important role in forging the future of Fairfield and managing the financial health of our Town. It is a very serious decision that belongs in the hands of the voters at the ballot box. Not in a select few.

Many members of the general public may be unaware of the fact that Ms. Kupchick is legally prohibited from agreeing to appoint a replacement to fill the First Selectman vacancy if she ultimately believes that it is in the best interests of the Town for the voters to decide who succeeds to the office.

This issue was decided by the Connecticut Supreme Court in 2018 in a case entitled TARA COOK-LITTMAN ET AL. v. BOARD OF SELECTMEN OF THE TOWN OF FAIRFIELD ET AL. (SC 20007). (See link to case here https://jud.ct.gov/external/supapp/Cases/AROcr/CR328/328CR40.pdf).

The rule of law that came from this judicial decision in this case states that once the Board of Selectmen appoints a replacement to the vacancy, a special election opportunity under the Connecticut State Statute 9-222 is forever barred and prohibited.

So let’s let the democratic process unfold and allow the Voters of Fairfield to choose who should lead the Town for the next two years in a Special Election.

Karen McCormack