Date: Fri 05-Apr-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Town-Clerk-Curtis-charter

Full Text:

Town Clerk Asks That Her Position Remain Appointed

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

Town Clerk Cindy Curtis does not want the Charter Revision Commission to

change her job from an elected to an appointed position.

"I believe very strongly that the town clerk should remain an elected

position," Ms Curtis said at the commission meeting last Thursday evening at

Edmond Town Hall. "The town clerk's office is responsible for so much - it is

a position that should be picked by the voters."

Responding to suggestions made by several town officials at recent Charter

Revision Commission meetings that the town clerk be appointed, Ms Curtis said

she is concerned that the position should remain bi-partisan. If it becomes an

appointed position, it could become very political, she said.

"If you do lean toward making the position an appointed one, then I recommend

the town clerk be appointed by, and report to, a subcommittee of the

Legislative Council instead of to the first selectman," she said. "That might

take some of the politics out of the position."

Cindy Curtis is serving her 14th year as clerk. She has run for office every

two years on the Republican ticket. In recent elections she has been

unopposed.

"The voters have the right to pick their government officials," Ms Curtis

said. "The new (state) law allows (officials to serve) six years. Although I

believe four years would better provide for continuity, I think elected office

needs to be accountable so elections every two years are better for the people

of Newtown."

In a recent survey of the town clerks in the state's 169 towns, only 32 said

they are appointed. Of the 120 who responded, 52 serve four-year terms and 52

serve for two years, Ms Curtis said.

Commission Vice Chairman Mae Schmidle said many Connecticut towns have a

history of political partisanship which influence whom is appointed to

positions. "That hasn't happened here because we are such a clean town, but it

happens in other towns," she said.

Commission member David Chipman said in the 35 years that he has lived in

Newtown, the town "has had an uninterrupted string of first class town

clerks." He questioned whether having the the position appointed by a first

selectman would really be any different than the current practice of having

the candidates chosen by the nominating committees of the local political

parties.

Under the charter, an elected official must be a resident of Newtown. There

are no controls or guidelines for appointed officials, Ms Curtis said.

The town clerk also said she believed the charter should be changed to allow

an automatic referendum on spending large amounts of money because voters no

longer turn out for town meetings.

"I don't know exactly what that amount should be," she said, "but I don't

think decisions on spending hundreds of thousands of dollars should be made by

two voters, as has happened."

Ms Curtis said that according to charter, vacancies on the Legislative Council

are to be filled by council members of the same political party within 30

days. If the vacancy isn't filled, the entire council is charged to take

action. "But the charter doesn't say how long the council can take to do

this," she said. "The time should be specified."

Registrars of Voters

The town's two registrars of voters, Democrat Susan Fernandes and Republican

Shirley Lawrenson, also came to the Charter Revision Commission meeting to

make recommendations on how the charter should be changed.

Mrs Fernandes said that after the "last fiasco" which she and the late Dona

DaMota, the previous Republican registrar, experienced, she believes the

charter should be changed to have the Legislative Council set the boundaries

of voting districts.

"Dona and I spent hours and hours going out into areas to check voters and

keep the districts equal, but the council threw out our entire proposal and

did what it pleased, without doing any homework of its own," Ms Fernandes

said.

Between the establishment of the three state senatorial districts in Newtown

and the recent "astronomical growth" of numbers of voters in District 3B, the

districts are "way out of whack as far as voting population," Ms Fernendes

said.

Commission Chairman Michael Snyder suggested that the problem could be

eliminated by having members of the Legislative Council voted at large. But

the registrars and the town clerk said that isn't possible with the current

voting machines which have only 40 columns.

"We could only do it if we dropped some candidates, such as the Board of

Managers who run unopposed," Ms Fernandes said.

Commission member Steve Kotch said an issue as important as how the council is

elected should not be determined by how many columns exist on a voting

machine. "That's the tail wagging the dog," he said.

Probate Judge Margot Hall also answered the commission's invitation to speak.

She said that although the Probate Court office shows up in the town budget

and annual report, it operates entirely by state statute so she had no

recommendations to make to the commission.

The commission will hold its next meeting on Thursday, April 11, at 7:30 pm in

the old courtroom at Edmond Town Hall. The meeting will begin with a public

participation portion.