Board Of Selectmen Discusses Potential Name Change

GREENWICH, CT — One of the first items this current Board of Selectmen took up in December of 2019 was a discussion on the board's name itself.

With Jill Oberlander choosing to go by Selectperson, Lauren Rabin as Selectwoman, and Fred Camillo as First Selectman, the three discussed possibly changing the "Board of Selectmen" nomenclature, as well as individual titles, to reflect inclusion. The idea was originally brought up to Camillo after the 2019 election by Greenwnich resident, Allison Kahn.

But then COVID-19 came, and the town focused its energy on battling the pandemic.

As the pandemic is waning and normalcy begins to return, Oberlander brought up the idea of a name change during Thursday's regularly scheduled Board of Selectmen meeting.

"Given the past year's focus on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts as well as the fact that this is Pride Month, I thought it was a very timely opportunity to bring back up the discussion," Oberlander said. "Greenwich values inclusion. It's something we've taken seriously and that we're working towards everyday. What better way to signal and look to our values of inclusion than by changing our nomenclature to represent that inclusion."

Oberlander suggested changing the board's name to "Select Board", and said First Selectman could become "Chair of the Select Board", or perhaps even Mayor. The other two board members would be named "Selectpeople, Selectpersons, or members of the Select Board."

She noted other titles that have changed from gender-specific to gender-neutral over the years, such as fireman to firefighter, policeman to police officer, and chair or chairperson instead of chairman.

"By having gender-neutral titles, we can signal to our residents, to young people, that there's room for all, and one does not have to identify in a particular way to be a member of this board, a member of this community. People can see themselves and aspire to this position, and to a governing role in our community, and it's empowering as well," Oberlander said.

Oberlander noted that the change would not be intended to "threaten one's identity", but rather "allow people to feel more included in our community."

Camillo said he's open to the discussion, and wants to hear feedback from residents on what they want.

"I think we need a little more discussion on this and get some feedback from the public. I don't have any objections. I don't see anything wrong with a Select Board or Mayor terminology," Camillo said.

Rabin, too, said she's open to the discussion and not opposed to a gender-neutral board. Rabin added that she has not gotten a lot of feedback from the community, outside of the initial meeting in 2019. After that, Rabin said she heard that some people objected to the title of Mayor, as they associated that term with a city.

"We're not a city. Even though we're a large municipality, we're not a city. We're a town," Rabin said. "Whether we say Board of Selectpeople or the Select Board, it's still consistent with a Darien or a New Canaan. Regardless of what they do, they're not going to that Mayor format."

Rabin also wants to hear more from the public as she continues to learn about what people value in the community.

Oberlander said she'd like to vote on a potential name change by the beginning of September. Camillo said he'd circle back offline with Oberlander and Rabin to figure out ways to get the public involved in the decision making process over the coming weeks.