Weston's selectmen have appointed Christopher Bryant, a member of the town's Board of Finance, to the seat Selectman Anthony Pesco said in October he would give up at the end of the month. Bryant is to join the board Nov. 1, once he resigns from the finance board.
Bryant had the backing of the Democratic Town Committee. At a special meeting on Zoom on Thursday, Oct. 22, First Selectwoman Samantha Nestor said that the night before, the committee had "unanimously endorsed Chris Bryant to fill the vacancy until the next election." There was "another candidate who was interested," she said, without naming anyone.
Nestor and Selectwoman Lauren Traum were the only ones to vote. Pesco abstained, and the appointment carried 2-0-1. At Traum's request, the motion makes it contingent on Bryant's resignation from the finance board. He would serve until the next town election, in November 2027.
Traum questioned whether the board could fill a seat that was not yet empty, and she and Nestor may have to vote again on Nov. 2.
Bryant, who moved to Weston from New York City in 2021, told the board he has started six businesses in a 30-year career as an entrepreneur. In town he has been PTO treasurer at Weston Intermediate School and, until this past year, at the middle school; treasurer of the Memorial Day Fair in 2023 and 2024; and treasurer of the Weston Community Fund. He also started West Fest, the two-day music festival held around the fair.
He said he did not yet know enough to promise specifics, but named three goals: better long-term planning for big financial and infrastructure decisions, making government "a little bit more understandable and accessible to residents," and closer ties between town government and civic groups and volunteers. On the town's school facilities plan, he said Weston should look at all of its options before it decides.
Asked about the state's housing law, Bryant said much of the talk of "the state pushing down mandates on towns" is "overstated," and that in his opinion exceptions would keep Weston out of those mandates. Over the long term, he said, the town should talk about "how we might expand the tax base," even if it decides to do nothing.
Pesco said he has known Bryant for a while and called him "the type of person that will hit the ground running as a board member."
On the timing, Traum said she was "not opposed to Chris's appointment," but that the state statute and the town charter both anticipate an appointment after the vacancy occurs, and Pesco's seat opens Oct. 31. She read the statute to mean that only the remaining members, she and Nestor, could vote.
Nestor said the board had checked with the town attorney and been told it could make the appointment effective at a later date. "We didn't ask for it in writing," she said. She asked Town Administrator Karl Kilduff to get clarity on the charter's wording after the meeting. If a problem turns up, Nestor said, she and Traum would meet again on Zoom on Monday, Nov. 2.