The first regular Town election after the adoption of this Charter
shall be on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2015.
Thereafter, the regular Town election shall be held biennially. All
officials duly elected at such regular Town elections, upon qualification,
shall take office on the Monday, or Tuesday in the event of a holiday,
following their election, and they shall hold office until their successors
have been chosen and qualified. Except as otherwise provided in this
Charter, all elective Town officers, boards and commissions shall
have the powers and duties prescribed by law.
At each such Town election there shall be elected in accordance
with the provisions of the Connecticut General Statutes the following:
a mayor, eight Council members, a Board of Assessment Appeals, a Zoning
Board of Appeals, nine members of the Board of Education as hereinafter
provided. Two registrars of voters shall be elected biennially for
two-year terms, and 16 Justices of the Peace shall be elected by Town
caucus as provided by the Connecticut General Statutes. Nothing contained
herein shall affect the power of the Council to prescribe the number
of Justices of the Peace by ordinance, adding to or decreasing as
shall be deemed expedient.
The terms of all officers elected by the Town election shall
be two years from the first Monday, or Tuesday in the event of a holiday,
following their election, and in no case shall the term of any elective
officer expire until the election and qualification of the successor.
A.
Board of Education. The Board of Education shall consist of nine
members. At the biennial election in November 2015, and at each biennial
election thereafter, a nine-member Board of Education shall be elected
for terms of two years. No elector shall vote for more than a bare
majority.
B.
Board of Assessment Appeals. The Board of Assessment Appeals shall
consist of three members. At the biennial election in November 2015,
and at each biennial election thereafter, three members of the Board
of Assessment Appeals shall be elected for terms of two years.
C.
Zoning Board of Appeals. At the biennial election in November 2015,
and at each biennial election thereafter, five regular and three alternate
members shall be elected for two-year terms to the Zoning Board of
Appeals.
The name of any elector of the Town shall be placed on the ballots
at the municipal election as a candidate for any office to be filled,
if the elector has been nominated by a political party in accordance
with the provisions of the Connecticut General Statutes.
The Town Clerk shall determine the sufficiency of any such petitions
pursuant to the Connecticut General Statutes.
When, as the result of any municipal, primary, or special election
held under the provisions of this Charter, it is necessary to break
a tie, a ruling by the general election laws of the State of Connecticut
shall prevail. The names of candidates shall be arranged in alphabetical
order as provided in this Charter. The term of any official elected
by breaking a tie shall commence on the first Wednesday following
the election.
At each regular election no political party shall nominate and
no elector shall vote for more than the Mayor, five members of the
Council, five members of the Board of Education, two members of the
Board of Assessment Appeals, three members of the Zoning Board of
Appeals, and two alternate members of the Zoning Board of Appeals,
as shall be determined by the provisions of this Charter and the Connecticut
General Statutes. Each political party shall elect by caucus 1/2 of
the total number of Justices of the Peace. Election of all officers
mentioned in this section, except the office of the Mayor, shall be
determined in accordance with the minority representation provisions
of the Connecticut General Statutes.
Vacancies in elective offices, except in the Board of Education,
from whatever cause arising, shall be filled by the Council for the
period until the next regular Town election. Vacancies in the Board
of Education shall be filled by the Board of Education for the period
until the next regular Town election. In filling any vacancy, the
Council and the Board of Education shall request recommendations from
the respective political party and shall select a person of the same
political party as that of the former incumbent pursuant to § C2-9
of this Charter. If said former incumbent was elected as an independent
candidate, the successor shall be a member of the political party
in which said former incumbent was enrolled or in case the former
incumbent was not enrolled in any political party, the vacancy shall
be filled by an elector not enrolled in a political party. Any person
appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for the remaining term of
the former incumbent and until the successor has been elected.
Each nominee for elective office shall be a resident and an
elector of the Town, and if any elected officer at any time shall
cease to be a resident of the Town, the officer shall at that time
and because of that act be deemed to have vacated the office.
There shall be three voting districts, but the number of such
voting districts may be increased or decreased and the geographical
boundaries of said districts may be changed by Town ordinance.
