Select Board Vote Fails; Questions Emerge Over Use of Vice Chair Title

Reorganization Vote Ends Without Majority

During a recent reorganization meeting of the Brookfield Select Board, a motion to appoint a vice chair did not receive the majority required to pass, leaving the position formally unfilled.

At the April 1, 2026 meeting, the three-member board took up a motion to appoint Select Board member Richard Chaffee as vice chair. Mr. Chaffee voted in favor of his own appointment, while Select Board member Beth Coughlin voted against.

Newly elected Chair Sarah Campbell did not cast a vote.

With one vote in favor and one against, the motion did not achieve a majority. Under standard municipal practice, a motion that does not receive a majority of votes cast does not pass.

The result left the board without a formally appointed vice chair at the conclusion of that vote.

Role of Vice Chair in Board Operations

In most municipal boards, the vice chair serves as the acting presiding officer in the absence of the chair and may be called upon to perform administrative or procedural functions tied to the board’s work.

The position is typically filled during annual or periodic reorganization votes, which establish leadership roles for the coming term.

Because those roles are created through formal votes, their validity depends on the outcome of those proceedings.

Documents Appear to Reflect Title

Despite the outcome of the vote, documents reviewed by the Brookfield Examiner appear to show Mr. Chaffee signing official materials using the title “Vice Chair” of the Select Board.

The documents were issued following the reorganization meeting in which the motion to appoint a vice chair did not pass.

A review of publicly posted Select Board agendas and records shows no indication that the board has taken any subsequent public action to revisit or resolve the outcome of the vice chair vote.

Without a new vote, the position was not formally filled.

Discrepancy Between Vote and Public Characterizations

Some public descriptions of the board’s reorganization have indicated that Mr. Chaffee was elected vice chair.

However, the recorded vote—one in favor, one against, and one member not voting—did not result in a majority.

As a result, the outcome reflected in the meeting record does not indicate that an appointment was made at that time.

Open Meeting Law History and Potential Implications

The situation may carry implications under the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law, which requires that meeting minutes accurately reflect the actions taken by a public body.

Under the law, minutes serve as the official record of a board’s proceedings, including votes and outcomes. If minutes were to state that a vice chair was elected despite the absence of a majority vote, that record could be subject to challenge as inaccurate.

The Brookfield Select Board has, on multiple occasions, been found by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office to have violated the Open Meeting Law, including findings related to procedural compliance and the handling of official actions.

Those determinations typically require public bodies to correct deficiencies—often through revised minutes, public acknowledgment of the violation, or additional deliberation conducted in compliance with the law.

In this instance, no publicly available record indicates that the board has taken corrective action to revisit or resolve the outcome of the vice chair vote.

The continued use of the vice chair title in official documents does not appear to be supported by a recorded vote.

Importance of Majority Vote in a Three-Member Board

In a three-member body such as the Brookfield Select Board, each vote carries equal weight, and a majority is required to take official action.

A split vote does not result in approval of a motion. When a member present does not vote, that non-participation does not add to the number of votes needed for a majority, but it also does not convert a split vote into an approval.

As a result, the 1–1 outcome recorded at the meeting left the motion without the support required to pass.

Status of the Position

As of this writing, no public record indicates that the Select Board has taken a subsequent vote to appoint a vice chair following the failed April 1 motion.

In the absence of a majority vote, the position was not formally filled.

How the board ultimately records that vote in its official minutes—and the basis for the continued use of the vice chair title—may determine whether further clarification or corrective action is required.

Watch the Vote

The vote can be viewed in the publicly available meeting recording below:

Meeting Video (queued to the Agenda item of reorganize the Board):
https://youtu.be/vdPrYUAwCAU?list=PLEZBtq345cqzQaARJA4LIOJm8orNmTnbY&t=421