SEYMOUR – Members of the Board of Selectmen are considering changing their titles to be gender-neutral.
A proposal to change the titles of “First Selectman” or “First Selectwoman” to “First Selectperson,” and “Selectmen” or “Selectwomen” to “Selectpersons” will be taken up by a subcommittee.
In addition, any references to the term “his” used in any town ordinances, regulations, codes, executive orders or other documents, would be substituted with the phrase “his and her,” according to the proposed ordinance.
Newly-elected Selectman Fred Stanek proposed the title change during a meeting Dec. 7. He sent The Valley Indy an email explaining the origin of the terms date back to when women could not participate in government.
“The history of the term ‘Selectmen’ dates back to colonial times when the adult voting population in New England towns gathered annually for a town meeting to act as the local legislature to approve budgets and ordinances,” Stanek said.
“Day to day operations were originally left to the residents of the town to oversee. But as the populations of towns and the services required grew, the towns began to elect executive boards of ‘selected men’ to run the operations of the town. Today, obviously the voting population is not only comprised of men. Many women have served and two women now serve on the Seymour Board of Selectmen.”
Stanek said his late wife Karen, a former selectman, and longtime Seymour educator, often discussed the need to change the masculine term ‘Selectmen’ to a neutral gender term, like ‘Selectperson.’
“It’s long overdue,” said Selectman Christopher Bowen.
Derby voters approved charter changes in 2016 that changed the name of the city’s Board of Aldermen to the Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen. The charter, (a town or city’s blue print for government) was also revised to include female references.
In January 2020, then Alderwoman Diane Stroman proposed Ansonia officials start using the word Alders instead of Aldermen. The proposal did not move forward.
