Voters to decide if Windham Town Clerk job remains elected position

By Ed Pierce

Just when residents thought the controversy surrounding the Town Clerk position in Windham was settled, a new development will have voters determine in the November election if the job is to remain an elected one or is appointed by the Windham Town Council.

The Windham Town Council has authorized 
a referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot to let
voters decide if the Windham Town Clerk
position should be elected or by appointment
of the council. Windham Town Clerk Linda
Morrell has served in the position for more
than two decades. SUBMITTED PHOTO 

During the Windham Town Council meeting on Aug. 20, comments were received from the public and a motion was discussed by councilors to place a referendum on General Election ballot for Nov. 5 to change the town clerk position from elected by voters to an appointed position by town councilors. A portion of the proposed referendum would have included language to amend the Windham Town Charter to grant councilors the ability to appoint and remove the Town Clerk on a vote of five members and to remove the Town Clerk position from provisions related to elected officials, essentially making the position by appointment of the council without a residency requirement. Councilor Jarrod Maxfield was not present for a vote about the issue on Aug. 20, and councilors deadlocked, 3-3, effectively killing the issue going to a referendum for the time being.

But per council rules, a councilor can petition the Town Council chair to bring up the issue again if there is a substantive change from the proposed original language. Council Chair Mark Morrison said that this was done, and a special meeting was requested to be held prior to a Sept. 5 deadline to include a referendum on the November ballot.

“All obligations were met, and rules of process followed per Windham Council Rules,” Morrison said. “Ample notice was given to the public and council. All steps taken in support of holding this special meeting were reviewed by Windham counsel and determined to be in full order per attorney Mark Bower of the Jensen, Baird, Law Firm.”

Morrison said the issue has come up upon the recommendation of longtime elected Windham Town Clerk Linda Morrell, who sent a memo to the council detailing why she supports changing the position to one that is appointed.

“The Town Clerk’s position should have someone who has clerk experience and who can be dedicated to this full-time position, including night meetings, and working evenings and weekends during election time. As an appointed position you can advertise and have the ability to choose the best qualified candidate,” Morrell wrote in the memo. “If the clerk is elected, anyone in town is able to run, and you may only have one person running who could absolutely have no experience or have any idea of what goes on in the clerk’s office. You cannot require qualifications when electing a clerk. This position has many responsibilities and involves several different jobs, most of which are state-mandated. Learning these jobs requires going to classes and workshops and repeating those classes due to laws and regulations continually changing. It takes two to three years to feel comfortable and knowledgeable in this position because there are so many things to learn and become familiar with. Elections are one of the most important things a clerk has to oversee, and you need to know what you are doing.”

Morrell has said that she will retire someday and that the job is tremendously challenging, and she only wants to ensure continuity and consistency when she does depart the job.

The council’s special meeting was held on Tuesday, Sept. 3, although Councilor John Henry, who had voted against creating a referendum on Aug. 20, had a prior commitment and was unable to attend the meeting. Both Councilor Bill Reiner and Vice Council Chair Nick Kalogerakis spoke during the special meeting, but each left before a vote to advance the referendum was taken.

At the onset of the special meeting, a public hearing was conducted to allow for public comment regarding the matter.

In all, a total of 14 Windham residents spoke during the public hearing, including three former town councilors, and two current clerk deputies serving under Morrell in the Windham Town Clerk’s office. Of those voicing their opinion, 11 speakers opposed sending the proposed change to a referendum, one said she didn’t like the method used in bringing the issue to another vote, and two spoke in favor of sending it to a referendum. Of the emails received by the town regarding the matter, Kalogerakis said those were overwhelmingly against making the Town Clerk an appointed position.

Because language added to the proposal differed substantially from the one previously voted on that did not include a residency requirement and possible waiver of that by the council, according to the town attorney’s opinion, the issue could be voted on again at the special meeting.

But Reiner disagreed with that assessment.

“The reason I don’t support it is I don’t believe it’s a substantive change,” he said.

Kalogerakis said that he not only opposed the original initiative, but he also believes calling for the special meeting after the issue wasn’t moved forward on Aug. 20 sets a bad precedent for the council.

“This is a strange meeting because we all know the outcome,” he said. “We’re being told the sky is falling and that concerns me because my point of view is very different. The town must be prepared for when department heads leave or retire. I want my vote, and that’s what I’m fighting for. The majority of emails and speakers at both public hearings don’t want this. It’s nuts, it’s embarrassing. I’d like to know how it will be worded on the ballot.”

He said what troubles him is the council voting a second time on something that wasn’t passed the first time.

“What’s got me the most is a council vote is a council vote,” Kalogerakis said. "This stinks and I don’t know how the four voting for this can feel positive about this. When this passes, all I can tell you is fight it at the polls because they’ll have to respect it then.”

Maxfield said he understands the concerns about this, but he believes the voters need to be able to have their say about this issue.

“What’s ironic is that all of us with this group are arguing for literally the exact same thing but on different sides of the coin," he said. "We’ve been presented with logical issues by our current clerk that deserve consideration by more than seven people. The people of Windham should have the best option for whoever comes into the job.”

Morrison said in doing more than 20 hours of research about this issue, he found that 24 of 28 nearby towns in Southern Maine had appointed town clerks and that Morrell had brought this issue to the council’s attention and she supports the possible change.

“This is Linda’s recommendation. Who better knows what’s best for our town and we need to take it seriously.” he said.

Morrison, Maxfield, and Councilors Brett Jones and David Nadeau then voted 4-0 to create a referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot asking voters if they supported keeping the Town Clerk position as elected or taking the step to change the Town Charter to make the position an appointed one. <