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With New Charter, Clinton Has Many Volunteers Positions to Fill

There’s still nearly nine months until Clinton’s new charter goes into effect, but the town’s political committees are getting to work now to spread the word about open positions on town boards and commissions.

Due to a new stipulation in that charter, a person may only serve in one elected position and three appointed positions concurrently. This new rule has opened ample opportunities for people to get involved in both the elected and appointed positions on the town’s various boards and commissions. Now, both the Republican Town Committee (RTC) and Democratic Town Committee (DTC) are trying to communicate that message to their members.

RTC board member Chris Aniskovich said that due to the new stipulation, the RTC is going make a major effort to recruit new members to get involved in the town. Aniskovich said he was happy about the new charter requirement and is hopeful it will encourage new voices to become involved in the town in official capacities.

“Everyone wants to talk on social media, but we want to get the word to the registered Republicans that there are positions available and we need Republicans to step up,” he said.

DTC Chair Andrea Reu said that the DTC over the last several years has made it a focus to find candidates for positions in which they have expertise or an interest in.

“It requires a lot of outreach by a lot of people,” Reu said.

Aniskovich said that the RTC would also be working to step up its Facebook and web presence in an effort to spread the word about the open positions in town.

According to Aniskovich, getting new people involved in town could potentially lead to new opinions and options being explored by the town.

“We want people that can work together. You can disagree absolutely, but do what’s best for Clinton,” he said. “Getting the right people involved is important.”

“I think people are open to being asked,” Reu said. “People get involved because they want to be involved in something big, and that’s community.”

Reu said she sees Clinton as being full of potential for change in the coming years, and being a part of that change is something exciting.

“You get to know other people you might not have gotten to know otherwise,” Reu said.

Aniskovich and Reu both reiterated that anyone interested in becoming involved in the town need not be a member of the RTC or DTC, they just need to be a registered Republican or Democrat in Clinton. Republicans interested in an open position can contact aniskovich2@gmail.com. Democrats interested in a position are asked to send an email with a résumé and statement about themselves to info@clintondtc.org.

Residents without party affiliation (or who prefer to bypass the town committees) can apply for appointed positions via the Board of Selectmen’s office at 860-669-9333.

After communicating their interest, the RTC and DTC have search committees that vet each candidate. After the search committee, the candidate’s then come before the full RTC or DTC for a vote by the full body. If the position is an appointed one, the recommendation of the appointment is sent to the Board of Selectmen, who then vote themselves to fill the position.

If the position a person is interested in is an elected one, the RTC and DTC help their respective candidates with their campaign leading up to the November elections.

For Reu, helping people find a position they are interested in is one of her favorite parts of being involved.

“I love this part, it’s what got me involved in the DTC.”

Aniskovich said he does have concerns about some aspects of filling seats under the new charter. For example, Aniskovich said that while the new charter could potentially get more people involved in town governance, if not enough people step up to fill vacant positions, it could lead to some boards and commissions struggling to hold a legal quorum at meetings.

Reu said she’s not as concerned about the limitations on the number of roles a person can hold, but said that a larger issue she sees is getting younger people involved in the town. Reu pointed to young people with families and careers who may not have the time to commit to positions in town as people that are missing.

“You miss that young energy and passion,” said Reu, who said she has seen more people coming forward.

A list of the boards and commissions is available on the town’s website ct-clinton.civicplus.com.