Josh Szwed elected to Region 20 Board of Education in Litchfield special town meeting

Josh Szwed was elected on June 15, 2026, to the Regional School District 20 Board of Education to fill a vacancy with a term ending June 30, 2030, the Moderator declared at a Special Town Meeting held at Litchfield Intermediate School.

First Selectman Denise Raap called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m. and moved to extend voting until 8:00 p.m. to accommodate parents at a school awards banquet; the motion was seconded by Jeffrey Zullo and approved unanimously. Lisa A. Losee served as Town Clerk for the meeting.

Nominations were taken from the floor under ground rules set by the Moderator. Rachel Bernhardt was nominated by Danny Clock and seconded by Beth Landau; Josh Szwed was nominated by Sue Carpenter and seconded by Carrie Szwed; and Matthew Carbone was nominated by John Morosani and seconded by John Strawson. Motions to close nominations were moved and seconded and carried.

Each candidate accepted the nomination and spoke in turn, followed by a brief question-and-answer period in which one question was asked and answered. The Moderator twice asked if there were additional questions; none were offered.

Voting was by paper ballot. A total of 400 ballots were cast. Ballots were hand-counted by Republican Registrar Lynette Kyasky and Deputy Nancy Southard and Democratic Registrar James Duncan and Deputy Jill Bigelow, assisted by Town Clerk Lisa A. Losee. Two ballots were rejected for over-voting and 398 ballots were counted: Szwed 225, Bernhardt 120, Carbone 53. The Moderator then declared Josh Szwed duly elected to serve on the Region 20 Board of Education representing the Town of Litchfield through June 30, 2030.

A motion to adjourn was made by Margaret Hunt, seconded by Daniella Larrson, and the meeting adjourned at 8:17 p.m.