David Rosenwaks’ candidacy for first selectman is a novel experience for Westport voters.
And not just because he is on the Independent Party line.
He is also running solo — without a running mate.
Which raises an interesting question: If he wins next month, who will fill the other 2 seats on the Board of Selectmen?
When there are running mates — which has always been the case in the past — the Town Charter is clear: They become 1st and 2nd selectpersons. The runner-up candidate for the top spot is the 3rd selectman (or woman).
But if Rosenwaks wins, there would be two seats to fill, on the 3-person board.
Would the first runner-up become 2nd selectman, and the next person — the one with the fewest 1st selectman votes — be 3rd selectman?
Or would the second-place ticket — both candidates from the same party — be sworn in as 2nd and 3rd selectperson?
Five candidates vie for 3 seats. From left: Democrats Kevin Christie and Amy Wistreich; Independent David Rosenwaks; Republicans Andrea Moore and Don O’Day.
“06880” asked town attorney Ira Bloom, who will advise town clerk Jeff Dunkerton (he’s got the final decision). Bloom says:
“This is an important and interesting question, which Jeff Dunkerton asked of assistant town attorney Eileen Lavigne and me several weeks back.
“We looked at the Charter, and concluded that if David wins the race, Kevin Christie and Don O’Day (the other 1st selectman candidates) would serve as the other 2 selectmen.”
Bloom said that the other option — the losing ticket candidates with the second most votes take the other 2 seats—would “in theory give that losing ticket the ability to oppose anything the winning 1st selectman proposes. That may appear unfair to some people.”
“The Charter does not expressly address this, but it does discuss an analogous situation.”
It says that if a person who is not nominated by a party wins, then the 2 defeated 1st selectman candidates become the other selectmen.
Bloom says, “We interpret this provision to be addressing the case of a person who runs alone, resulting in 2 open seats, in which case the two defeated First Selectman candidates become Selectmen. (The Charter language is, ‘the 2 defeated candidates for 1st selectman having the highest number of votes,’ because in some cases there may be more than 3 total 1st selectman candidates).”
The town attorney adds, “There is nothing in the Charter provision that would indicate that the second highest vote-getting 1st selectman’s running mate would become a selectman, which would have the paradoxical effect of giving the defeated candidate majority control over the winning candidate.”
Bloom sent along the relevant section of the town charter (section C4-1. — Composition & Election). It says:
Westport Charter § C4-1. – Composition and Election.
The Board of Selectmen shall consist of the First Selectman and 2 other Selectmen, no more than 2 of whom may be members of the same political party. No political party shall nominate more than 1 other candidate for Selectman. Such candidates shall be listed together upon the ballot or machine. No elector shall cast more than 1 combined vote for First Selectman and 1 other Selectman. The candidate for First Selectman having the highest number of votes shall be elected First Selectman, and the candidate for Selectman combined with the elected First Selectman on the ballot or machine shall be elected a Selectman. The defeated candidate for First Selectman having the highest number of votes shall be elected a Selectman. If a person is elected First Selectman who has not been nominated by a political party, the 2 defeated candidates for First Selectman having the highest number of votes shall be elected Selectman. The Selectmen shall be elected quadrennially as provided by the General Statutes. Upon election, each member of the Board of Selectmen may decide whether to be designated as Selectman, Selectwoman or Selectperson.
That settles it!
And for what it’s worth, the last line helpfully clears up the ongoing question of gender.
