Lifelong Chichester resident Chris Weir filed a lawsuit in Merrimack County Superior Court against the town, accusing the select board of disregarding a petition brought forward by residents who sought to hold a special town meeting.
Weir stated in his complaint that, in August, he handed Board of Selectmen Chair Richard Bouchard a petition to hold a special town meeting and that Bouchard responded by saying, “Any paperwork you hand me, I will throw in the trash.”
Weir said his petition to hold a special meeting had 50 signatures. He and others sought to hold the meeting to vote on a warrant article that would mandate the Board of Selectmen to meet weekly.
“We ask the court to issue the warrant for the petitioned special town meeting or order the Chichester Board of Selectmen to do the same, in accordance with RSA 39:3. We ask the defendant reimburse all legal/filing fees encumbered due to this motion,” Weir wrote in the complaint on Oct. 7.
RSA 39:3 pertains to citizen petitioned warrant articles.
Weir will represent himself in the case. He declined to speak with the Monitor over the phone but stated in an email that holding a special meeting felt like the only path towards getting the board to listen to residents.
With the lawsuit, he hopes the court will force the board to hold the meeting.
“I want the Board of Selectmen to follow the law, abide by the law and be accountable to the citizens who not only voted them in to office, but also were left with no alternative but to file suit and ask the court to order the Selectmen to follow the law,” he wrote to the Monitor. “That’s what I want. The laws to be followed and the voters of Chichester to have their/our voices heard and authority asserted, as granted to them/us.”
Bouchard could not be reached for comment.
