HOULTON, Maine — Despite the majority of Houlton voters selecting a local bank manager for a three-year Town Council seat with 698 votes, the former councilor declined the position, leaving one council seat open.
Alexis Brown had been appointed to the Houlton council earlier this year after Councilor Mark Horvath resigned. But on Oct. 3, Brown resigned her seat in the wake of Town Manager Cameron Clark’s Sept. 25 arrest on felony victim tampering and domestic violence assault charges. Nonetheless, she remained on the November ballot.
Because Brown declined to accept the seat, the council will appoint someone to fill it for one year during its Nov. 24 meeting.
The Town Council is currently advertising for candidates to express an interest in the open seat, Council Chairman Ed Lake said in a special meeting on Wednesday night.
“Anyone interested in the council seat can let us know why they would like to be on the council,” Lake said.
Houlton residents interested in filling the one-year vacancy should submit a letter of interest by Nov. 21 to the Town of Houlton, 21 Water Street, or by emailing town.clerk@houlton-maine.com.
The Houlton Town Council will select a candidate for this vacancy at their regularly scheduled Nov. 24 meeting.
During Wednesday’s meeting, newly elected Councilor Sue Tortello asked if there could be a form for interested candidates to complete to make sure everyone has a fair opportunity and is asked the same questions.
Town Clerk Khylee Wampler said she would prepare a form and letters of interest can also be submitted.
Tortello also suggested the council on Nov. 24 publicly announce all the people who submitted their names, giving them an opportunity to address the council prior to the decision. Town councilor roles and responsibilities beyond the twice-monthly meetings should also be defined, she said.
“They can make their case why they think they would be the person to be nominated,” Tortello said. “They don’t have to come but it would be nice to give them the opportunity and let them know they would have a chance to address us.”
Former Town Councilor Tortello picked up a third uncontested seat on the council with a one-year term, receiving 1,035 votes in the Nov. 4 election.
Councilor Jane Torres, who resigned as council chairwoman on Oct. 10 after the council voted to place Clark on administrative leave, also remained on the Nov. 4 ballot for a second three-year seat. She picked up the seat with 460 votes and accepted the position.
Despite an increasingly vocal public outrage about Clark, Torres declared her continued allegiance to him when she resigned her post.
After Torres resigned, Councilors James Peters and Erin Matthews followed suit. A week earlier, Brown resigned just hours after Councilor Jon McLaughlin resigned. The two relinquished their council seats because, at the time, the council chose to keep Clark on the job.
The mass exodus from council left the town without a governing body because with only two remaining councilors there was no longer a quorum, which according to town charter requires four members and a chairperson.
On Oct. 15, remaining Councilors Edward Lake and Eileen McLaughlin appointed Jeffrey Maguire, Jantzen Craine and John “J.J.” Schools to one-year terms that will end in November 2026.
McLaughlin termed out of her seat this month.
On Wednesday night, newly appointed Councilor Craine said that transparency in the process is important and he too thought people seeking the open seat should have an opportunity to present their case before a decision is made.
He would like to see the council use a fair system to select the new councilor, he said.
“There may be several really good candidates for councilor,” he said. “I am making sure everybody does have a chance to speak. This past time I came prepared to speak and I was surprised I was not called to speak.”
Jantzen was referring to his Oct. 15 appointment. On that night the council chambers were packed with many people prepared to say why they wanted to serve on the council, but no one had an opportunity to speak before the three men were appointed to the seats.
Lake said the situation was different because it was an emergency situation without a quorum.
