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Stratford resident urges town council to vote on land-use alternates after yearlong delay
Summary
At a Jan. 13 public forum, resident Kathleen Callahan told the Town of Stratford council the body has not voted on alternate appointments for three land-use boards for a year and asked the council to schedule votes and hold a public discussion.
Town of Stratford Town Council Chairman Carl Glad opened the council's public forum on Jan. 13, 2025, where resident Kathleen Callahan urged the council to schedule votes on alternate members for the town's three elected land-use bodies and to hold a public discussion explaining members' votes.
Callahan said the Democratic Town Committee submitted two qualified candidates in January for the zoning commission and zoning board of appeals and recently added a qualified candidate for the planning commission. "At the start of this town council's term last year, all three elected land-use bodies had two of the three alternates filled, and all six of these alternates were registered Republicans," she said, adding that no votes to appoint new alternates have appeared on the council agenda during the past year.
The resident said three of those alternates "will or already have termed out this month," leaving each land-use body with only one alternate. Callahan said she had heard council members discuss the possibility that nominees might not receive enough votes and that the chair was uncomfortable bringing names to a vote. "I again request that you schedule the vote for our names and have a public discussion on why you choose to vote for or vote against these candidates. The public would appreciate seeing transparency in action," she said.
Callahan also told the council she had heard that planning and zoning meetings had been canceled for lack of commissioners and alternates. The transcript shows Chairman Carl Glad opened and then closed the public forum; no council vote or formal action on appointments was recorded during the forum.
The council did not announce a date to place the nominees on an agenda during the public forum, and the transcript does not show any motion or direction to staff to schedule the appointments. It therefore remains not specified when, if at all, the council will vote on the submitted candidates.
