Stonington — All three members of the Board of Selectmen have signed a consent agreement with the state Elections Enforcement Commission over the appointment of unaffiliated Selectman Michael Spellman last December.

The state had set an Oct. 15 deadline for the town to sign the agreement or appeal its finding that Spellman’s appointment violated state election law.

The agreement allows Spellman to remain selectman through the November election, in which he is facing Democrat Kate Rotella.

The agreement required the town to acknowledge that it violated the law when it appointed Spellman, and to agree to strictly comply with state law concerning appointment of members to boards and commissions in the future.

The order also would allow the town to avoid any penalties. Signing the order saves the town from spending money on legal fees for a hearing.

Charter Revision Commission member Ashley Gillece filed a complaint with the elections commission last December challenging the legality of Spellman’s appointment.

Gillece had pointed out to selectmen that Connecticut General Statute 9-59 states that anyone who changes political parties or has his or her name removed from the enrollment list of a party shall not be entitled to be appointed as a member of any board or commission that is political in nature or be appointed as a member of any board or commission that is political in nature for a period of three months after filing the application to leave a party or transfer to another party.

Spellman left the Republican party and became an unaffiliated voter on Dec. 16, 2014, the same day he was appointed by Crouse and Simmons.

Democratic First Selectman George Crouse and Republican Selectman Rob Simmons have said they appointed Spelllman to fill a vacancy on the Board of Selectmen after consulting with Town Attorney Thomas Londregan and the chairman of the Democratic and Republican town committees.

In a January letter to the elections commission, Londregan wrote that his review of the legislative intent of the law found that it was enacted to prevent someone from switching parties and then immediately being appointed to a board or commission by his or her new party.

He pointed out that Spellman did not change parties but decided to become unaffiliated.

In addition, Londregan said the law in part concerns appointments to boards and commissions that are political in nature.

He said that with Spellman’s appointment, the Board of Selectmen is not political in nature, with one Democrat, one Republican and one unaffiliated voter.

j.wojtas@theday.com

Twitter: @joewojtas