The League of Women Voters of Kent County will host a public forum on Thursday, January 16, at 6 p.m. in Chestertown Town Hall (second floor) for the First District council seat. Candidates Shelia Austrian and Dawson Hunter will introduce themselves and respond to audience questions.
The election is scheduled for Tuesday, January 21, at the Chestertown Firehouse.
The First District seat was vacated following Tim O’Brien’s resignation in November after legal challenges to his eligibility after moving out of the First Ward.
O’Brien, elected in November 2021, moved to the 400 block of Greenwood Avenue—located in the Fourth Ward—during the fall of 2023. This relocation sparked legal disputes over his role on the council. On October 15, a writ of mandamus was filed in court by plaintiffs Robert Miller, whom O’Brien defeated in the 2021 election, and “Jane or John Doe,” arguing that O’Brien’s move rendered the council “illegally constituted.”
The plaintiffs sought O’Brien’s removal, a council vacancy declaration, and the nullification of council decisions made after October 23, 2023.
The mayor and council responded with a revision of the town charter on November 6, 202: to allow council members who have served at least two years of their four-year term to retain their seats if they move out of their ward but remain within town limits. O’Brien recused himself from the vote.
A Circuit Court hearing on the motion to dismiss the petition was held on December 18. On December 22, Judge Harris P. Murphy denied the motion and ruled that O’Brien’s term had effectively ended when he moved from the First Ward. The court ordered the council to fill the vacancy according to the town charter.
Judge Murphy also determined that no council actions or votes were invalidated due to O’Brien’s participation after his relocation.
In an email to the Chestertown Spy, Stephen Z. Meehan, lead counsel for the petitioners, expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision.“Mr. Miller has achieved his primary objective: restoring a lawfully constituted government to Chestertown. It is unfortunate that it took this lawsuit to compel Mr. O’Brien to abandon his seat,” Meehan said, highlighting Judge Murphy’s criticism of the council’s conduct as “problematic” and “troubling.”
The forum will be recorded and made available on the League’s website at lwvkcmd.org.
Registered county residents living in Chestertown are automatically registered for town elections.
Pre-election interviews with the candidates will be made available on The Spy in the upcoming days.
