New Canaan charter panel tables joint paper on board elections
Other Committee · Meeting of January 28, 2026
New Canaan charter panel drops joint paper on electing town boards. The Charter Revision Commission's Group One voted unanimously Wednesday to permanently shelve a joint report on whether boards like Planning and Zoning and the Board of Finance should be elected, after a commissioner identified as Chris said new Planning and Zoning testimony and the first selectman's public comments on the question had made a unified document untenable. "I don't feel comfortable participating in the document that, as I said, we were almost ready to agree on," Chris said.
The group instead agreed to raise, as discussion items rather than a formal recommendation, capping party representation on appointed boards and shifting appointment authority to the full Board of Selectmen. Commissioner Joe Paulo noted unaffiliated candidates need roughly 50 signatures to petition onto a town ballot. Members also approved a redlined Article One adding a 180-day deadline for filling appointed vacancies.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 869 words
Source: the Other Committee meeting of January 28, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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