Residents OK litigation money

By: B.J. O'Brien
07/09/2004

Residents at a town meeting agreed to allow the town to spend $137,000 to pay for litigation expenses related to the election lawsuit that was filed by former First Selectwoman Judith Novachek and other members of the Republican ticket who lost on Election Day against town officials and the victorious Democrats.

During the hearing Tuesday night, town counsel Martin Lawlor pointed out that the 11 invoices sent by the lawyers representing the town officials and the winning candidates had already been paid.
Some people in attendance wondered why a town meeting was required on the matter when the money had already been spent.
"If these things have been paid, what are we voting on?" asked resident Kevin Gallagher.
Mr. Lawlor said that the town charter required that a public hearing be held, even though the money had already been spent.
Each time the town receives an invoice, it is paid immediately.
The reason why this expense didn't go to a town meeting earlier was because it wasn't clear how much money would be spent on the lawsuit, according to the town counsel.
"You don't know what you're going to get into when you start a lawsuit," Mr. Lawlor said.
The money was paid out of the town's unreserved, undesignated fund balance.
"I think the town meeting was a formality," First Selectwoman Alice Hutchinson said Wednesday.
She hopes that the motion that was approved Tuesday night closes the book on the lawsuit.
"In the minds of the citizens of Bethel, the lawsuit has been over for a long time," she said.
The lawsuit sought to overturn the Nov. 4 municipal elections.
However, Danbury Superior Court Judge Douglas Mintz dismissed the case because not all of the candidates on the Election Day ballot had been notified of the court action.
"The court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to hear this matter because all the parties required to have notice of this action did not receive notice. Therefore, the case is dismissed," Judge Mintz said in his decision.
Mrs. Novachek, who now serves as a man, said Tuesday night that she believes the judge should have mentioned that not all the necessary parties were notified earlier in the hearings instead of waiting to do so in his final decision. This could possibly have saved the town some money.
"I fault the court," she said.
The lawsuit was filed because Mrs. Novachek and the other plaintiffs believed that errors that were made by the registrars of voters and voting machine mechanics had an impact on the outcome of the election.
The voting machines were not working properly that day and residents were forced to use paper ballots in most of the voting districts.
The machine mechanics are responsible for setting up the machines. The registrars are supposed to oversee the machines and test and certify them before the election.
Although the case was dismissed, the registrars and voting machine mechanics were fined by the state's Elections Enforcement Commission. Two mechanics were also decertified.
The town agreed to pay all the fines.
The commission reached this decision after receiving complaints from Bethel citizens concerning what happened Nov. 4.
The complaints stated that voting machines had been set up improperly and that voters could not split their votes in multiple elections. They also said that the machines were not tested and that they were opened during the day. Also, the complaints claimed that residents were able to cast votes on flawed machines and that, because some districts were limited to one voting machine, long lines waiting to vote ensued and some people decided not to vote.