Motion to add election of mayor pro tempore to agenda fails after tie; resident had urged open process

Councilor Terry Lynn Rogers moved on July 15, 2025 to add a new-business item to the Vernon Town Council agenda proposing the election of a mayor pro tempore to serve the remainder of the 2023–2025 session, naming Councilor Mary Anne Levesque as the nominee. The motion to add the agenda item required a two-thirds vote and failed after a recorded tie of six in favor and six opposed.

The proposal followed a public comment earlier in the meeting by Michael Winkler of 20 Gaudio Drive, who criticized the council’s handling of the mayor pro tempore vacancy at a previous meeting. Winkler argued the prior agenda item—described in his remarks as calling for “the election of blank mayor pro tempore” with a preselected name—did not permit nominations consistent with Robert’s Rules of Order and suggested withholding the nominee’s name from the agenda could violate Freedom of Information statutes and deny the public an opportunity to comment. He urged the council not to handle similar items in executive or “secret” sessions and said he would pursue enforcement under FOI if necessary.

During the council floor debate on adding the agenda item, members discussed whether the town charter requires a replacement election outside the initial swearing-in meeting. A council member said the charter “only talks about the first meeting” and is silent afterward; Rogers and others argued the spirit of the charter favors having a deputy or mayor pro tempore. The council took a five-minute recess to seek clerical guidance before returning and ultimately voting down the motion to add the election to the agenda.

Because the motion to add the election item failed, the vacancy in the mayor pro tempore position remained unfilled at the close of the meeting, and the council did not proceed to a vote to elect a deputy mayor.