Ridgefield, CT, November 21, 2024 – The Ridgefield Democratic Town Committee is seeking candidates to fill a vacant position as an Alternate Member of the Zoning Board of Appeals. An Alternate Member of the ZBA may serve on a ZBA panel when a Member of the ZBA is unable to attend a meeting. This vacancy is created by the resignation of Robert Byrnes as an Alternate Member of the ZBA. Mr. Byrnes resigned as an Alternate Member because he was elected to be a Member of the ZBA and is now serving as a ZBA Member.

The Ridgefield Town Charter requires an elective board, such as the Zoning Board of Appeals, to fill a vacancy with a person who is a member (or alternate member) of the same political party as the party on whose row the previous person was elected. Since Mr. Byrnes, a Democrat, was elected as a Democrat for a term as Alternate Member running from November 2020 to November 2025, the ZBA is required to appoint a registered Democrat to fill the Alternate Member position until the November 2025 municipal election.

The DTC requests that any registered Democrat in Ridgefield, who may be interested in serving as an Alternate Member of the ZBA, send a statement of interest as well as a resume or biography (or equivalent) to recruitment@ridgefielddems.org, by 1:00pm on Monday, December 9, so that a DTC subcommittee may interview potential candidates and the DTC can send an endorsement to the ZBA in a timely manner for its consideration. Interested persons are advised that the ZBA will conduct its own official selection process for filling the vacancy and will have its own application process. The ZBA’s process is separate from the DTC’s process. The DTC’s endorsement is advisory to the ZBA.

Contact: Joe Shapiro, Chair of the DTC’s Recruitment Subcommittee (cell: 203-300-2163)