Shelton GOP taps Feehan for vacant school board seat
SHELTON — The Board of Education’s newest member was among the lowest vote getters on Election
Day.
Needing to fill the seat vacated last week by Sharon Herman, Republican board members selected Jim Feehan, an incumbent who had been seated earlier this year to replace the then-departing Joseph Pagliaro Jr.
Republican Town Committee Chair Anthony Simonetti confirmed that Feehan was chosen and sworn in Monday.
The addition of Feehan came two days before the Board of Education’s first meeting since the election. Votes on all board leadership positions is on the agenda, and a new board chair will be chosen since Kathy Yolish, longtime board member and board chair the past four years, chose not to seek reelection.
Herman resigned her seat only hours after being sworn in last Tuesday. Both before and after Election Day, Herman became a target of social media posts about her past, which included a Department of Children
and Families investigation in 2017.
Despite the furor over her candidacy, she received 5,433 votes and earned one of nine Board of Education seats, helping Republicans maintain a 5-4 control of the board.
There were no public calls from local Republicans for her to step down, but she offered her resignation after being sworn in “due to family consideration.”
It then fell on Republican board members to select the newest member.
Feehan joins fellow Republicans James Orazietti and Amy Romano, both incumbents, and Smeraglino, Jason Neves. On the Democratic side, incumbents Kate Kutash Patti Moonan and Lorraine Rossner were reelected, with Joan Littlefield filling out the board.
Overall, four of the top seven vote getters were Democrats, a major change from two years ago with Republicans being eight of the top nine. By charter, the minority party must have four members.
Overall, Feehan placed 12th of the 14 Board of Education candidates on the ballot on Election Day. Feehan finished with 4,660 votes, less than all five Democrats, including Bette Lynn Paek, who finished with 5,306 votes and is not on the board.