WINDHAM – The Windham Town Council elected Scott Hayman as chairman and Peter Busque as vice chairman at its meeting Tuesday night.

Prior to the vote, Hayman indicated his desire for the job, and when the time came for a vote, councilors unanimously elected the Windham native to the one-year term.

Peter Busque made the motion to elect Hayman as chairman with John MacKinnon seconding the motion. Outgoing Vice Chairman Matt Noel offered comment prior to the vote: “Scotty, I’m really happy to hear you’re stepping forward and looking at this as an opportunity. I really think you’ll do a great job as a long-term resident of the town of Windham, a hard worker, thoughtful, considerate. I think you’ll do a fine job,” he said.

After Hayman was elected, Noel made a motion seconded by newly elected Councilor Kevin Call to elect Busque as vice chairman.

Resident Martin Shuer took exception to Busque’s nomination, citing his relationship with other councilors.

“In light of recent circumstances involving the council, it might be good to have some sense of a greater bipartisan representation in the chair and vice chair represented on the council,” Shuer said. “I’m just concerned about the public perception, founded or unfounded, that there may be a sense that there’s been an agenda within the council toward certain issues being pushed forward through council business and I personally would just like to see that a more measured approach towards how the council agenda is moved ahead. I think that may be better represented through someone else on the council.”

Noel indicated his support for Busque, saying he has been elected twice with overwhelming support.

“This past election, while he ran uncontested, it could have been just as easy for the majority of people not to vote for him … although that wasn’t the case. Peter won overwhelming. He nearly got 5,000 votes. He does have the support of this community,” Noel said.

John MacKinnon was elected to return as parlimentarian for the board. Decisions to elect the three-member Finance Committee and Appointments Committee were tabled until the Nov. 23 meeting due to the recent resignation of Bill Tracy and “perception issues out there in the public,” as MacKinnon described it, regarding the make-up of the two committees.

The Finance Committee is charged with providing the larger council with a detailed review of the manager’s budget. The Appointments Committee is tasked with interviewing potential committee members and offering nominations to the larger council. The Appointments Committee will also be tasked with bringing forth nominations for the council seat left vacant by Tracy’s resignation.

Newly elected councilors Tommy Gleason and Kevin Call join with re-elected councilors Peter Busque and Scott Hayman to take the oath of office with Windham Town Clerk Linda Morrell. Hayman and Busque were later elected chairman and vice chairman, respectively. (Staff photo by John Balentine)