Windham Town Clerk job to remain an elected position

By Ed Pierce

For the foreseeable future, the Windham Town Clerk job will remain an elected position.

Linda Morrell has served as Windham Town
Clerk for more than two decades and has
indicated that she will be retiring in the
near future. A vote by the Windham Town
Council failed to place a referendum on
the November ballot to change the town clerk
position from elected to one that is 
appointed by town councilors.
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 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.

In a memo in the council agenda from Windham Town Clerk Linda Morrell, who has served in the position as Town Clerk for more than two decades and was deputy clerk for seven years before that, listed her thoughts regarding the issue.

“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. “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.”

Windham Town Manager Barry Tibbetts said the issue has arisen because Morrell has indicated she plans to retire at some point in the future and many of the surrounding towns have appointed town clerks. Rather than disrupt and delay services until an election could be held for a new town clerk who would appoint staff, converting the job to an appointed one would make deputy clerks hired town employees, ensuring continuity of services if the town clerk suddenly resigned or leaves the position.      
In Windham, the elected town clerk position oversees Dog Licensing; Hunting/Fishing Licensing; Business Licenses and Permits; and Notary and Dedimus Service. The clerk’s office assists in Tax Collection/Auto Registration in collecting property taxes; assist in Tax Collection/Auto Registration in registering Autos, Boats, and ATVs; issues marriage licenses and has Welcome Packets available for new residents. The Town Clerk also ensures that excellent customer service is provided to the public in a courteous and friendly manner and supervises all elections conducted in the Town of Windham. The town clerk ensures all voter registration is handled in accordance with Maine Law and the Windham Town Charter.

Speakers attending the meeting advocated for moving the item forward as a referendum item for the General Election on Nov. 5 and allowing the voters to decide the question. All of the emails reviewed by the council suggested for integrity and accountability purposes that there isn’t a great reason for the town to make the position an appointed one and hoped the council would keep it as an elected position.

Councilor Bill Reiner said he thought if the position was converted to an appointed job that a qualification should be imposed that the town clerk must be a resident of Windham for at least two years.

Councilor John Henry questioned why the discussion was even taking place to begin with.

“I think we’re trying to fix a problem that hasn’t happened yet,” Henry said. “It’s good to be proactive but it’s at the expense of disenfranchising the voters.”

Council Nick Kalogerakis agreed with Henry and said he supported leaving things as they currently are.

“I put more faith in the people, I don’t know why this has to be changed,” Kalogerakis said. “Let the process play out as it should.”

Council Chair Mark Morrison said he understood concerns about election integrity but thought residents of the town needed to decide what’s best for them though a referendum.

With discussion closed, the six councilors in attendance took a vote about whether to create a referendum for the fall election.

Councilors Brett Jones, Mark Morrison and David Nadeau voted for the motion to create the referendum, while Councilors Bill Reiner, John Henry and Nick Kalogerakis voted against the motion. With a 3-3 vote and Councilor Jarrod Maxfield not in attendance at the meeting to vote, the motion failed and the Windham Town Clerk position will remain an elected one. <