Old Lyme — The Board of Selectmen on Monday debated questions of politics, perception and character as they voted on how to fill two seats on the Economic Development Commission.

Ultimately, Republican First Selectman Tim Griswold and his November running mate, Matt Ward, rejected a motion by Democrat Martha Shoemaker to reappoint incumbent Candace Fuchs to a five-year term. Fuchs, a Democrat, was first appointed to the commission by selectmen in February 2020, according to meeting minutes.

Instead, the three-member Board of Selectmen appointed Republican Wendy Russell and unaffiliated applicant Mona Colwell, an outspoken school board candidate who ran on the GOP line of November's ballot and was the lowest vote-getter in the race.

Members of the public, who called in but were unable to be muted by Griswold due to technical difficulties, could be heard muttering "wow" and at least one surprised expletive from the audio unit at the center of the selectmen's table.

Griswold first opposed Fuchs' reappointment last month at the monthly selectmen's meeting, when he called her "a bit abrasive from time to time." He has said his impression was based on what he'd heard of her interactions with the Parks and Recreation Commission as part of the Old Lyme Rowing Association.

On Monday, Griswold maintained selectmen need to give Colwell "a chance."

"I think she's being dismissed as not having skills here," he said. "I think she has a lot to bring to the table."

Colwell has been criticized by some for views shared on social media and at the state Capitol against what she describes as medical "tyranny." At a September public hearing on COVID-19 vaccination mandates at state universities, she took to task the assembled members of the legislature's Conservative Caucus for not preventing the mandate amid "continuous, disgusting greed over this puffed up crisis."

Colwell on Tuesday said she's owned businesses for more than 20 years and helped to grow small businesses when she lived in both Arizona and Vermont. She said she was involved for two years with the informal economic development group in the small town of Killington, Vt.

She described herself as thankful to be appointed to the commission and looking forward to learning more about the group's plans to help businesses in Old Lyme.

Colwell during election season told The Day she's been a substitute teacher in the district for seven years and recently got her private insurance license. She said she has a bachelor's degree in finance and strategic management and five years of experience working on Wall Street as a financial analyst for what was then Salomon Brothers.

Fuchs had been recommended for reappointment by commission Chairwoman Cheryl Poirier for her "productive and reliable" service on the commission, including being the only member to volunteer to take notes. Poirier also endorsed Russell.

Poirier, a leader on numerous local boards and commissions who recently was recognized as the town's Citizen of the Year, on Tuesday expressed frustration with the appointment process. "I was very clear to the selectpersons and gave concrete examples of the value that Candace (Fuchs) brought to the EDC," she said. "It's unfortunate it didn't seem to carry weight in last night's decision."

Poirier invoked Griswold's rationale for the appointment when she wondered if the move could have a chilling effect on volunteerism when people are denied reappointment "because someone else deserves 'a chance.'"

Poirier, who is unaffiliated, said Fuchs' party affiliation or political voice outside the EDC didn't affect her involvement in the EDC.

Fuchs on Tuesday said it's been made clear that Democrats "need not apply" in Old Lyme. "I will continue my work on the Democratic Town Committee to expose the partisan tribalism which prevents our Republican leadership from availing themselves of the talents offered by over half of Old Lyme's citizenry," she said in an email.

After the vote Fuchs said, "the Republican Board of Selectmen were able to support their candidate only on the basis of two years of service, in Vermont."

Deliberations

Shoemaker, who lost her bid for first selectman by 104 votes to land a seat as selectman, objected at this week's meeting to Griswold's characterization of Fuchs as abrasive. "I believe as town leaders we are supposed to be setting a good example, and discussion of a person's character or personality traits is not to be a topic of a discussion at any town meeting," she told Griswold.

She said it was also not appropriate for the selectmen to deny Fuchs a seat on the committee where "she has done extensive good work."

But Ward bristled at talk of appropriateness, asking Shoemaker if she thought it was appropriate for Democratic EDC member David Rubino to write in an email to selectmen and two media outlets about Colwell's social media postings.

Rubino ran a failed 2020 campaign for Republican state Rep. Devin Carney's 23rd District seat in the state General Assembly with 44.8% of the vote compared to Carney's 55.2%.

Rubino in last week's email included screenshots from Colwell's Twitter account that consisted mostly of retweets of memes or statements posted by others that compared the push for COVID-19 vaccinations to Nazi Germany and questioned the safety of the shots. He told selectmen that "if abrasiveness is a criteria for disapproving a nomination, I would suggest that Cowell's public statements — many of which have been widely publicized in local media — are facially disqualifying."

Ward told selectmen on Monday that it was "probably inappropriate" for Griswold to call Fuchs abrasive, but said it's another thing to directly target someone for their political beliefs. He said that was an issue during the fall campaign, as well.

"When is it going to end? She's never going to want to volunteer for anything ever again," he said. "I don't think that's fair."

Rubino in response to a request for comment Tuesday said he sent selectmen the screenshots "with the hope that they would be able to put partisan politics aside in the face of what was clearly a bad choice for the town."

He called the selectmen's endorsement of Colwell's appointment an endorsement of the "divisive views" she shared on social media.

"Mr. Ward worried that in the face of my criticism of her ideas, their nominee will never volunteer again," he said. "A rational leader would worry that she will."

After the meeting, Griswold told reporters he valued Poirier's opinion but "felt it was important" to choose Colwell.

"I think she brings a business perspective, which could be good," he said. "It's a nine-member commission, so I don't know their strengths and so forth."

Poirier said the move does not give volunteers confidence their energy is valued. "There are times politics will play out in government, I'm not naive to that," she said. "But personally I think political chess doesn't serve the more than 100 volunteers who are working together to try to accomplish progress on behalf of the town."

Edie Twining, the former EDC member whose December resignation due to too many commitments led to the second open seat, described herself as the abrasive one on the commission.

Twining is the chairwoman of the Halls Road Improvements Committee, which is working on plans for zoning changes and grant-funded infrastructure improvements to turn the strip mall-laden road into a more vibrant neighborhood. Controversy over the first round of suggested zoning changes in December led to the ongoing revision of the committee's recommendations.

She said it was strange to her that the town's top officials respected Poirier enough to give her the Citizen of the Year award but not enough to respect her recommendation about who is best qualified for the EDC. "If you've got a good leader and a good group of people working together, why would you undermine that," she said. "For political reasons?"

At the behest of the EDC, selectmen on Monday also approved the formation of a Shoreline Gateway Committee to engage the entire community in creating a vision for Sound View Beach and nearby areas of Route 156. How to best address redevelopment in an insular town with a shoreline that culminates in a beach deeded to the public has long been an issue of contention.

e.regan@theday.com