#MiddleburyCT #Selectman #Special Election
By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
At the February 9, 2026, Board of Selectmen (BoS) meeting, Middlebury Selectmen J. Paul Vance and Brian Shaban voted down First Selectwoman Jennifer Mahr’s motion to have a June 2, 2026, special election to choose a selectman. The decision on the election date is now set to be made on March 2, 2026. The election is to fill the seat vacated by Mahr’s election to first selectwoman. Shaban, who was appointed to the selectman position, is expected to be the endorsed Republican candidate in the election.
Mahr introduced the subject by referring the selectmen to an email from Town Clerk Brigitte Bessette certifying the petitions for the special election filed by January 28 had the required 345 signatures as 416 of them were officially verified. Bessette stated that Bernard Liu, a staff attorney in the Secretary of the State’s office, said, “The selectmen set the date at their leisure. A date which accommodates a 90 day calendar is appreciated. Additionally, Tuesdays are traditionally selected for election day.”
Mahr said she had given Vance and Shaban the normal 2026 election calendar and the town charter pages that say the budget referendum will be the first Wednesday in May (May 6) and, if that vote fails, every two weeks thereafter until it passes. May 20 would be the first date following a failed vote. Considering Memorial Day is shortly thereafter, Mahr proposed they leave May to budget season and set a special election for Tuesday, June 2, 2026.
Mahr motioned to set this date. Vance said he’d like to discuss that. Mahr said the motion needed to be seconded, so Vance did so. Vance said he had reached out to the Secretary of the State’s office himself to make sure the process they use is proper and complete. He said he therefore would vote to postpone setting the date until the next meeting until he had heard back from the Secretary of the State and an election law attorney to be sure they are doing exactly what state statute and the town charter say, so he would table their decision until their next meeting.
Mahr said he was making a motion within a motion, and they needed to discuss the first motion before moving on to another motion. She explained the petitions had gone to the town clerk, who then certified the signatures and notified the BoS the process was properly completed. She said, “So there’s no discussions or questions about whether it was or was not done correctly. The petitions came in, they were verified, and there were more than enough to trigger the special election. and all that happens next is that we set the date. There is no question about whether we should have done it or could do it.”
Shaban said he agreed on the proposed date, but since Vance is reaching out to the state, he agreed they needed to be sure they were doing it correctly. “It doesn’t just refer to Statute 222,” he said. “I did a lot of research on this obviously, but looking through Statute 9-55, 9-391, 9-1064, I just think we need to make sure we do it perfectly.” He said he wanted to make sure all the t’s were crossed and the i’s dotted.
Mahr said she didn’t think Shaban understood.
He said, “I do.”
She replied, “I don’t think you do because there is a minimum of a 90-day election calendar that comes to us from the Secretary of the State’s office. We do not set that calendar. So the purpose of us setting the date now is that we have at least exceeded the 90 days.” She said if they didn’t set a date, the calendar would move.
Shaban said he believed they would still be in the 90-day window. Vance agreed. Mahr asked them what was going to change between now and March 2. Vance called the question.
Mahr called for a vote. She voted in favor; Vance voted “Nay” and Shaban said “Aye,” but corrected himself saying he meant “Nay.” The motion failed.
Vance then motioned to table setting the special meeting date until the March 2 meeting. Shaban seconded the motion. During discussion, Mahr asked Shaban and Vance what was going to change. Vance said they would have all the answers by then and enough information to make an intelligent and informed decision. Shaban said he felt they just need to make sure with the Secretary of the State’s office that everything is in line. Mahr asked what information was missing. Shaban said he didn’t think information was missing, but one of them said 127 days from certification and there was a lot of information they needed to go over. “I think we deserve a chance to make sure it is prior to setting that date,” he said.
Mahr said, “The town clerk already got that information from the Secretary of the State’s office.”
Vance said he just wanted to confirm everything, and he didn’t think putting it off would hurt anything. He again made a motion to table the matter until the next meeting. Shaban again seconded it. Mahr asked for the vote. Vance and Shaban voted in favor; Mahr voted against, and the motion passed.
