Old Lyme Sets Oct. 6 Special Election for School Board Seat

OLD LYME, CT – Democrat Scott Brown’s resignation from the Region 18 Board of Education has prompted a special election to fill his seat.

According to a notice approved by the Board of Selectmen this week, the election will take place at a special town meeting on Oct. 6 at 6 p.m. in the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School auditorium at 53 Lyme St. Only registered voters who live in Old Lyme may vote.

On Sept. 5, Brown sent a letter to school board chair Jason Kemp alerting him to his Sept. 30 departure. 

“Unfortunately, advancing age and related burdens prevent me from meeting my obligations as a board member,” Brown wrote. “I have greatly appreciated my time with the board members and professional staff of Regional School District 18, and as always, wish only the best for this outstanding school district.”

Kemp on Wednesday said he looks forward to having a productive relationship with whoever fills Brown’s seat. 

“Dr. Brown was a valuable member of the board during his three years, bringing a wealth of educational knowledge,” he said.

Brown was principal at Lyme-Old Lyme High School for many years and, after he retired, worked at  LEARN Regional Educational Service Center in Old Lyme, Kemp said.

The Democratic Town Committee met on Sunday, Sept. 20 and endorsed Devin Berke to run for the seat, DTC Chair Kim Thompson said in a phone call Wednesday. He is a construction project manager with an accounting degree and years of experience working in finance and construction.

“And we just think that his particular skill set will be great for the Board of Ed,” she said. 

Berke, who moved to town in about 2019, is originally from Massachusetts. Over the phone Wednesday, he said he came to Connecticut after college and fell in love with the shoreline and Old Lyme.

He made Old Lyme his home, got married and had a daughter, who is in second grade at Mile Creek School.

“I’m invested in the school system for at least 10 more years at a minimum,” he said.

Berke has been a member of the DTC for several years and on the Board of Assessment Appeals for about three. He considered running to fill a vacant seat on the education board earlier this year, but the DTC had Democrat Marianne DeBruyn in place.

Debruyn beat Republican Brandy Campbell for the seat in the July 21 special election.  

When Brown announced his resignation, Berke decided it was time to run, he said. He said he will bring diversity to the board as a number of members are educators, while he comes from a background in finance. He said he has worked in the public and private sectors and transitioned to construction. He is now general manager of national operations at inTerra Innovation, Inc.

As of Wednesday, the Republicans had yet to name their endorsement, according to Republican Town Committee Chair Randy Nixon. He estimated the decision would be made by the end of the week.

“We’re still working on it, so we just haven’t come to a decision yet,” Nixon said.

When asked if she was running again, Campbell declined to comment.

“I’m not sure I’m able to comment on what the RTC is proposing yet,” she said.

In her speech before votes were taken at the July special election, Campbell, a veterinarian and scientist with two children enrolled in Region 18 schools, spoke about the need for a diversity of voices, ideas and values. 

“Our board lacks that balance. Without a conservative voice, families who believe in parental involvement, fiscal responsibility, transparency, accountability, and academic fundamentals often feel unheard,” she said. “I will bring that missing perspective. As a mother of actively enrolled children, I see the homework. I hear the classroom stories, and I feel the impact of every decision without having conflicts of interest or ties to teachers unions.”

With Brown’s resignation, the school board will consist of seven Democrats and one unaffiliated member elected under the Democratic banner.

Republican Registrar of Voters Cathy Carter said voters on Oct. 6 will be able to listen to candidates’ speeches in the middle school auditorium and then vote in a separate location, likely the cafeteria. Once checked in, they will cast ballots behind a privacy screen.

She said town officials will meet Monday to finalize the details but that after the last special election the process needed to be tweaked, as it was an outdated model.

At that election, more than 400 voters stood in line in groups, based on where they were seated, and placed their ballots in boxes at the front of the middle school auditorium.

The last group did not cast ballots until an hour and a half after the meeting began, Carter said.

“Some people wanted to vote and then leave,” she said. “So people won’t be tripping over each other, trying to get up to the front of the auditorium. People didn’t like going in front of everyone and putting their ballots in the box.”

Voters will write a candidate’s name on a piece of paper and put it in the appropriate box, Carter said.

Carter said registrars need more advance notice to use the town’s tabulators as they need to be programmed and they need memory sticks.