Chestertown to hold special election in January to fill council vacancy

The town’s First Ward council seat has been vacant since the resignation of  Tim O’Brien, who had 13 months remaining on a four-year term.

O’Brien submitted his resignation in a three-sentence letter dated Nov. 4.

“I am writing to announce that after careful deliberation regarding the best interest of the town, I made the difficult decision to voluntarily resign from my seat on the Council, effective immediately,” the letter states.

O’Brien said he was proud of the work “we have done during my term” and that he looked forward to what’s to come in the future of Chestertown.

He also said he hoped to remain active in the community.

According to minutes archived on the Town of Chestertown’s website, O’Brien last attended a meeting on Oct. 7.

O’Brien’s standing as a councilman became the subject of legal wrangling last month when a writ of mandamus was filed with the court requesting that he be removed because he no longer lived in the First Ward.

About a year ago, O’Brien purchased property and moved to the 400-block of Greenwood Avenue, which is in the Fourth Ward.

The petition argues that since then the Chestertown council has been “illegally constituted.”

Plaintiffs Robert Miller and Jane or John Doe, through their attorneys, request that the court order the mayor and council of Chestertown to remove O’Brien from the council; commence the vacancy process as outlined under the town charter; and nullify any action taken by the council while it was illegally constituted from October 23, 2023.

O’Brien defeated Miller, 206-35, in the November 2021 election.

There has been no public discussion about the lawsuit. The petition initially was posted on the town website, but has been removed.

To view the petition, see, go here.

A hearing on a motion to dismiss the petition is scheduled for Dec. 18 in the Circuit Court for Kent County.

The first public acknowledgment of O’Brien’s resignation was made at Monday night’s regularly scheduled meeting during Mayor David Foster’s report.

Foster described O’Brien as a very active member of the town council and said he would be “sorely missed.”

“We  will keep you posted via the town website on our efforts to find an appropriate replacement,” Foster said.

O’Brien’s resignation was the first item on the mayor’s report Nov. 18.

According to a legal notice posted on the town website, there will be a special election for the First Ward council seat on Jan. 21, 2025.

Residents of the First Ward must be registered with the Kent County Board of Election Supervisors on or before Friday, Dec. 20, 2024.

All Chestertown residents currently registered with the county are automatically registered to vote in town elections.

The Kent County Board of Election Supervisors is located at 135 Dixon Drive in Chestertown; hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays — except holidays.

Forms and information regarding mail-in registration may be obtained from the Kent County Board of Election Supervisors by calling 410-778-0038.

The deadline to file for candidacy also is end of business on Dec. 20.

Petition forms and information may be obtained in the town office at 118 N. Cross St., or by printing all forms in the campaign form links, https://chestertownmd.civicpluswebopen.com/board-supervisors-elections.

Click here to see the town map, https://www.chestertown.gov/board-supervisors-elections/page/redistricting-map-and-ordinance.

Holding a special election was something the mayor and council discussed and then decided against when by unanimous vote on Nov. 6, 2023 they adopted a change to the town charter that would allow a councilmember who has served at least two years of their four-year term to complete the term if they move from the ward from which they were elected.

The stipulation is that they must continue to live in the town limits of Chestertown.

Before a motion was made, O’Brien, elected to a first term in November 2021, acknowledged that he would be impacted so he recused himself from the vote.

According to the state Department of Assessments and Taxation online records, O’Brien and his wife on Oct. 31, 2023 settled on a home in the Fourth Ward — about a block outside of the First Ward.

Resolution 06-2023, which addressed the section about councilmembers’  qualifications, was introduced at the Oct. 16, 2023 mayor and council meeting.

A public hearing was held Nov. 6 during the regularly scheduled meeting.

“This has to do with continuity of government,” Foster said as a lead-in to the public hearing.

“The question is if an individual moves from one ward to just outside that ward. We didn’t think that it was in the interest of the town or efficiency of government to immediately have to have a whole new election, get somebody else for the remainder of that term,” Foster said.

He said the change was “desirable” from the public’s point of view in terms of continuing with someone they already know and has been representing them.

Foster called it “a relatively minor modification” to the town charter, but one that he strongly felt was appropriate.

No one from the public signed up to speak, but there were a couple of questions from audience members.

They were told that currently, in the case of a change of residency, the ward representative would have to resign and the vacancy would be filled by appointment of the mayor and remaining councilmembers or by a special election.

In answering another question from the audience, Foster said to his knowledge this was the first time that a councilmember moved during their term.

The resolution passed by a 4-0 vote.

Fourth Ward Councilwoman Meghan Efland made the motion. Third Ward Councilman Jose Medrano, who seconded the motion, Foster and Second Ward Councilman Tom Herz also voted “yes.”

The resolution became effective Dec. 26, 2023.

Published with permission by friend of the Spy Trish McGee, publisher of The Evening Enterprise. To subscribe to the Evening Enterprise, go here.