Selectmen Clash Over Appointments To Affordable Housing Commission

OLD LYME, CT – The Board of Selectmen’s annual flurry of board and commission appointments was marked by disagreement over who to appoint to the Affordable Housing Commission, while the rest of the meeting moved forward Monday without controversy. 

The Democrat-controlled board split on two commission appointments, one for a regular voting seat and another for an alternate position. 

First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker and Selectman Jim Lampos chose commission newcomer Ross Higgins, a Democrat, to fill an open regular seat over the objections of Republican Selectman John Mesham.

Mesham’s motion to nominate current alternate member Shaun Mastroianni, a Republican, was not seconded. 

“I think it makes sense to move him up to one of the regular spots because he’s already been serving,” Mesham said. He also pointed to support from commission co-chairs Fred Fenton and Jennifer Miller for Mastroianni. 

A Jan. 19 email from Fenton to Shoemaker, provided Wednesday by the first selectwoman, said the co-chairs put forward Mastroianni and Ken Girty for the two open regular seats.

Shoemaker said Girty’s application was delayed due to a spelling error related to his voter registration and would be voted on at the next selectmen’s meeting.

Mastroianni, formerly active in Stonington politics, ran unsuccessfully for state Senate against state Sen. Martha Marx, D-New London, and for a spot on the regional Board of Education since moving to Old Lyme more than two years ago. He has served as an alternate on the Affordable Housing Commission since March after being passed over for a regular seat.

His application cited prior service on housing-related commissions in Stonington and more than 20 years of experience in senior housing.

Mastroianni’s alternate position expires in January of next year.

In Higgins’ application, she identified herself as a former member of the town’s American Rescue Plan Committee and a current board member for several groups including the New London Homeless Hospitality Center. She cited decades of experience at a New York nonprofit focused on education and historic preservation.

Mesham said Tuesday he was disappointed Democrats did not want to make Mastroianni a regular member despite the candidate’s qualifications and standing with the commission.

“They campaigned on removing partisan politics from Town Hall,” Mesham said of his fellow selectmen. “It seems that this is not the case.”

Mesham ran for first selectman against Shoemaker in November, lost by 130 votes, but earned a spot as selectman.

Shoemaker on Tuesday said she served with Higgins on the American Rescue Plan Committee.

“My goal as first selectwoman is to get as many people involved in town government as possible,” she said. “And Ross had stepped up to the plate and asked to be appointed.”

Selectman unanimously appointed Anthony Vasiliou to the remaining alternate opening. 

Appointments to several more commissions, including the Water Pollution Control Authority and Zoning Commission, will be made at the Feb. 2 selectmen’s meeting.

Alternate Opinions

Mesham was also the lone nay vote when selectmen appointed Democrat George Frampton Jr. to an alternate seat on the Affordable Housing Commission.

Frampton is currently engaged in a legal dispute with the town over a spit of land bisecting his Tantummaheag Road property, which the town says has long been used as a public landing on Lord Cove.

The town has disputed Frampton’s rights to the property going back to the administration of former First Selectman Tim Griswold, who was in office when Frampton and his wife purchased 12-19 Tantummaheag Road in late 2020 for $1.15 million. In 2024, Frampton – a prominent litigator and government official with more than a half century of experience – signaled his intent to take the case to federal court if the matter was not resolved in his favor.

An earlier review of legal bills from town attorneys with the New London-based Suisman Shapiro firm show the town spent at least $61,000 for fees specifically related to the disputed landing through July 2025. A more up-to-date accounting was not provided Tuesday.

The town was also responsible for the first $10,000 in legal costs after Frampton’s threatened lawsuit prompted the Board of Selectmen to bring in the town’s insurance provider, the Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency. Finance Director Anita Mancini said in July the town had already reached that threshold.

Mesham has been a vocal opponent of a draft agreement struck in April 2024 by Lampos, as selectman, and Frampton, which would have allowed people to use the road on foot from 8 a.m. to sunset while limiting cars to the paved cul-de-sac at the landing entrance. The draft agreement failed when Shoemaker and then-Selectwoman Jude Read voted against it.

Mesham declined to specify why he opposed Frampton’s appointment.

“I think it’s self-evident,” he said.

The Affordable Housing Commission co-chairs in the Jan. 19 email to Shoemaker endorsed Frampton for the position.

Shoemaker, emphasizing Frampton was appointed as an alternate, said he has shown an interest in affordable housing through conversations with town officials and at meetings.

She said she cannot comment on the status of the legal dispute while it is ongoing.

There have been numerous executive sessions on the matter since Frampton’s attorney circulated the draft lawsuit, but no public action has been taken.

“He can be removed at any time,” Shoemaker said.