EAST MILLINOCKET — The Board of Selectmen apparently has settled a simmering dispute by unanimously agreeing on Monday to hold a new election solely for one open three-year seat on the five-member board.
The special election will be held on Jan. 11. Selectmen will decide during a special meeting at 9 a.m. today the deadline for candidates’ election papers, Town Clerk Angela Cote said. Those papers must carry at least 25 resident signatures.
The new election comes in the wake of Selectman-elect Louis Perreault’s decision late last week to decline to serve because of unspecified personal and medical problems after earning 450 votes in the Nov. 2 election.
When reached at home Sunday, Perreault maintained that personal and medical problems, which he declined to specify — not his Fire Department work or a lack of desire to serve — caused him to back out of serving.
Perreault said that he was aware of the problems a few weeks before the election, but didn’t see how he could reverse the balloting process at that point.
His decision caused Chairman Mark Scally to accuse Perreault on Sunday of playing a game and making a mockery of elections. Scally said he believed that Perreault never intended to serve.
Perreault maintained that his personal problems were genuine and said he had apologized immediately to Selectman Mark Marston, who failed to be elected Nov. 2 with 426 votes.
Marston wanted another election as soon as possible, saying that a four-member board was ill-advised given the many issues confronting the town over the next several months.