Paris Election

by E.C. Shanor
     
     PARIS – On March 9, Paris voters took the last step of the process of replacing the board of selectmen, started months ago.
     
     Paris attorney Ted Kurtz and retired teacher Jean Smart were elected and sworn in as selectmen Tuesday night shortly after the polls closed and the votes tallied.
     
     When asked for his response to being elected, Kurtz, who had run unopposed, joked that he was “surprised.”
     
     On a more serious note, the newly elected selectman said he was looking forward to learning the ropes and helping to get the town government righted.
     
     “It's been broken for awhile. The opportunity to make the system work, I find appealing,” he said.
     
     Smart, who ran for a contested seat and won, said she was happy to be able to work restoring the citizen's confidence in their selectmen and to see the citizenry get the information they need to have.
     
     “I'm grateful to everyone who supported my candidacy,” Smart said. “I'm looking forward to getting to work. There are many problems that need our attention.”
     
     Kurtz ran unopposed to fill the few months remaining in the term of David Ivey, who was voted out in a recall election. The tall lawyer drew 416 votes.
     Smart ran against Kenneth West and netted 323 votes to West's 129.
     
     Town Clerk Elizabeth Knox said 452 ballots were submitted, 123 of them were absentee votes.
     
     The unusual election was made necessary by the recall of Selectman David Ivey last month and resignation of Selectman Troy Ripley, a term that expires in June, 2012.
     
     The newly-reconstituted board of selectmen will meet for the first time on Thursday, March 11, at the Paris Fire House on Western Avenue. The unusual meeting date was picked so the new officials could help with the budget formulation process, which has just begun, the Norway-Paris Solid Waste board reappointments and the Sharon Jackson lawsuit against the town.