After initial resistance to changing the title from “Selectmen’s Office” to “Select Board Office” in Wilton, the measure narrowly passed in a meeting at the end of February.
Selectman Kermit Williams moved to revisit the name change during a regular meeting on Feb. 26, according to meeting minutes posted on the town’s website.
Select board member Kellie-Sue Boissonnault first presented the idea at a Feb. 12 meeting, but the measure failed to receive a majority vote.
Select board member William Condra, whose term has since expired, called the suggestion “a political correction action that is not necessary,” according to the town’s meeting minutes.
He said the term “Selectmen’s Office” has been enshrined in the town for more than 200 years. Williams said, “it’s not a sexist term, it’s historical,” according to the meeting minutes. In an interview with the Ledger-Transcript at the time, Williams said he felt like the term “man” was a word that encompassed everyone, pointing to the word “mankind” as an example.
Boissonnault said she felt that the name should be changed to make it more gender-neutral in order to empower the next generation of town leaders.
Condra and Williams voted the measure down during the meeting in early February, and the motion failed.
But in the meeting minutes from the select board meeting on Feb. 26, Williams surfaced the topic again. This time, he pivoted from his original stance on the matter. Williams said he was elected to represent the people and that he had heard from a lot of people regarding the topic and had altered his decision.
Despite Williams’ change-of-heart, Condra remained strongly opposed to the idea at both meetings. In response to Williams’ comment about the public input he received since the matter first surfaced, Condra asked Williams if he’d heard from 10 percent of those people regarding the matter. Williams replied that he hadn’t, according to the minutes.
Boissonnault said she had heard from about 35 or 40 people.
Condra remained opposed to the name change because he said that the name has been “Selectmen’s Office” for more than a half a century. Condra said he strongly opposes a movement of political correctness, and therefore, opposed the motion, according to the minutes.
Instead, Condra suggested that the board allow townspeople to vote on the matter during the 2019 election cycle. He made a motion to table the item until the next election cycle, but there was no second and it died.
A vote was taken afterward to change the name of the b oard and passed in a 2-1 vote.
Abby Kessler can be reached at 924-7172, ext. 234 or akessler@ledgertranscript.com.