Stonington — Democratic First Selectman Edward Haberek announced Tuesday morning that he will resign effective Nov. 30, potentially setting up a race between the other two selectmen for his job.

Haberek did not say in his announcement on Facebook or in an email to town employees what he would be doing next. Democratic Selectman George Crouse, who will serve as acting first selectman, said Haberek told him he had “a good opportunity he could not pass up.”

Tuesday afternoon, Haberek declined to say what he will be doing next.

“I’m going to leave my private life private,” he said.

Asked if he would remain in Connecticut, he said he would “retain a connection to the area.”

In his announcement, Haberek said, “It has been an honor and privilege to lead the Town of Stonington and treasure the opportunity to serve you during my time in elected office. Serving in elected office has great satisfaction, but also a great toll and results in many good people choosing not to enter this arena. I dedicated a significant amount of my time and effort which resulted in a difference in my career and family in this position. I have made my ‘public life’ public and look forward to returning to the private sector and having my ‘private life’ private.”

Haberek, who was narrowly re-elected to a fourth term last fall, has won praise for his handling of storms and power outages and producing town budgets with minimal tax increases. The town has completed streetscape projects during his tenure and more recently undertook a multimillion-dollar upgrade of town roads and athletic fields.

Haberek, though, has been involved in a number of controversial issues in recent years. He and the town were sued by a woman who claims he sent her sexually explicit photos of himself using his town-issued BlackBerry and then employing the town labor attorney to block release of those phone records. He denied the allegations, but in a sworn deposition he admitted he sent the woman explicit photos of another man using his home computer. He also was criticized for using his Facebook page — which included photos and links to adult-oriented websites and scantily clad female bodybuilders — to post official town information.

Early in his tenure, Haberek posted blog entries that used material from other people, including the former governor of Maine, without attribution. For the past eight months, Haberek has refused to release text messages and emails sent from his town BlackBerry in 2011 and 2012, resulting in a state Freedom of Information complaint from The Day. Last year, The Day revealed Haberek had been using a town vehicle without authorization and was billing the town for travel expenses when he had a $6,000 annual expense account that previous selectmen had used for travel.

A number of town employees have complained about Haberek privately and in a letter for what they called intimidating behavior toward them. A former Human Services Department employee accused him of acting inappropriately toward her on a number of occasions.

Republican Selectman Rob Simmons said while he was surprised by the timing of the resignation, he was not surprised Haberek was stepping down. Since being appointed last month, Simmons said a number of people have told him that they did not expect Haberek to run in 2015.

Both Crouse and Simmons said they are interested in being named first selectman to fill the remainder of Haberek’s term, which ends in November 2015.

The process is as follows: Crouse and Simmons have 30 days from Nov. 30 to agree on who should replace Haberek. If they cannot do that, which appears likely, the town’s elected Democrats, with the exception of the boards of finance and education, will then have 30 days to name a successor to Haberek. The elected officials are Crouse, Town Clerk Cindy Ladwig, Treasurer Paul Cravinho and the four constables.

Once they name a successor, voters will have 15 days to collect the signatures needed to file a petition to force a special election. A total of 5 percent of the town’s 12,359 registered voters would have to sign the petition. Under state law, the special election would be held about five months later.

If either Crouse or Simmons becomes the first selectman, the process would be repeated to fill the selectman’s vacancy.

The process is the same as the one the town undertook in 2004 when Republican Selectman Peter Dibble resigned after pleading guilty to inappropriate conduct with an underage girl.

Crouse likened Haberek’s departure to that of Republican Selectwoman Glee McAnanly, who resigned this summer to take a job in Memphis, Tenn. Simmons was named to fill that vacancy.

Crouse said he has had five years of training under Haberek and is ready to be first selectman.

“It’s a privilege to serve the town,” he said. “Ed assured me I could do a very good job for the town. I’m looking forward to it. I’ve always tried to do my best for the Town of Stonington. I’ve always put the town first.”

In his announcement, Haberek said he also is proud that he recruited two new employers to town, started a downtown Pawcatuck summer concert series and took “innovative economic development approaches.” He said the town has the lowest tax rate in the region because of virtually no increases in town budgets for the past five years.

“Now, it is time to move on to the next endeavor in my career and life,” he said, adding that he looks forward to concluding some final initiatives.

He thanked Crouse, calling him “a trusted friend and ally” who will “provide an experienced stewardship to this position for the remainder of the term.”

He thanked the town staff, boards and commissions “who have worked hard to bring many of these accomplishments to completion.”

“I have the expectancy that the next elected leader of Stonington will continue the practice of serving the residents by being visible, approachable and accessible. “Stonington has been accustomed to commitment in these last seven years and deserves it going forward. My door has always been open to ALL the residents of town and I have continued to have the ‘Welcome’ sign above it that I installed after the first election in 2007,” he wrote.

j.wojtas@theday.com

Twitter: @joewojtas