Proposed Board/Commission Appointment Procedure

Sorry, I do not favor this ordinance as proposed. It gives too much power/control to the chairs of the local Democrat and Republican parties. There is no provision for any resident, whether they are a D, R or unaffiliated to directly submit their name to the town for committee positions. If a resident is a member of a certain party and is not on good terms with that party's chair then the resident would have a slim chance of being nominated for a board position. The ordinance calls for representation on these boards by both major parties but is silent on how independents are to be represented. I fear that many qualified residents who are unaffiliated, who would like to serve or are presently serving on town committees will not want to go through the party chairs as part of this new application process. If the TC insists on passing this new ordinance, I hope they will at least include some provision for direct submission of applications from the public and also state the extent to which unaffiliated residents will be represented on boards.



Council revisits repealed dictate

Wednesday, 15 April 2009
HANNAH CLARKIN

COVENTRY — An ordinance to maintain bi-partisan membership on town-council appointed bodies provoked a lengthy discussion at the Monday night council meeting.

The ordinance, drafted by Town Solicitor Patrick Rogers at the request of the council, requires that minority parties in the town be represented on every town body over which the council has authority. The boards would not be repopulated upon the passage of the ordinance, it stipulates. Rather, as openings come up, the council will request a list of three names from the chair of the majority and minority parties in the town. One minority party would be required on a body with three members; two out of a membership of five; three out of a membership of seven; four out of a membership of nine; and so on, the draft of the ordinance reads.Residents interested in serving on one of these bodies would submit their applications to the chairpersons of the majority and minority committees, who would then provide the council with a list of three names for each open position.

This proposal would restore an ordinance that was repealed within the last decade, Rogers said at the meeting. The intent of the ordinance, Rogers said, “is to insure that there is representation of all views, especially the minority party,” and speaking to the current minority, he added, “The shoe could be on the other foot.”Whatever majority is on the council will be automatically reflected in the makeup of these bodies, if this ordinance is approved, according to Council Vice-President Raymond Spear. There was a reason that this ordinance was repealed in the past, Councilman Frank Hyde, said during council discussion, indicating that he did not think restoring this ordinance was necessary. This ordinance would make it very difficult for independent or unaffiliated residents to find a place on town committees, commented resident Wayne Asselin. He likes the easy access of the current process, Asselin said, where anyone in the community can submit an application to the council and be interviewed.

As the ordinance was written on Monday, the minority and majority party chairs would be the “funnel” through which all applicants would go, Rogers said. If the council so desired, he can rewrite it to represent a third-way for independents and unaffiliated applicants to get appointments without going to a party chair.The council voted 3-1 to pass the ordinance on its first reading; Hyde dissented.While they did pass the first reading, Rogers expects that the ordinance will be reworked before it reaches its second reading and will have to be advertised again.“The town council is committed to bi-partisanship and balance on all of the town of Coventry Boards and commissions and very much wants to include independents and all non affiliated voters on boards and commissions,” Rogers said. What the draft presented on Monday does not specifically provide is an easy mechanism for independents and non-affiliated to apply for these positions, Rogers said. “While they did a first passage on Monday, the council wants to see some substantial changes to accomplish the goals that I just outlined. We’re going to have to go back to the drawing board to accomplish that goal so when it comes before the council next time it will be a substantially new draft.”

There are currently 22 unfilled positions on town bodies, said Council Vice-Chair Raymond Spear on Monday night. Not all the bodies currently represent both majority and minority parties, he added.Coming up with 66 names each is a tall order, said Republican Committee Chair Charles Vacca and Democratic Party Chair Rick Kalunian, respectively. If the council wants to fill all those positions immediately after an ordinance is passed, Vacca and Kalunian will be responsible for coming up with 132 names.