10/09/08 (updated 10/20/08)

Town Council Chairman resigns to accept job with state judiciary

Mary Ann Lynch, chairman of the Cape Elizabeth Town Council, has announced that she will resign her seat on the council effective Oct. 17.

Lynch is leaving public office to assume the job of Director of Information for the judicial branch of the Maine state government.

"The Code of Ethics for the judiciary prohibits judicial employees from holding elective office," Lynch wrote in a e-mail to fellow councilors Oct. 8, announcing her acceptance of the job. In her e-mail, she described her position, "serving as a liaison with the Governor's office, the legislature, the press, the bar, and the rest of the public."

Lynch is a seven-year member of the Town Council, first elected to the post in May of 2001. She was re-elected to her third, three-year term last November.

As part of their regular agenda Oct. 15, the council will elect a new chairman from among the six remaining councilors, and authorize a special election to fill Lynch's vacancy on Jan. 27, 2009.

Debra Lane, acting town clerk, has identified the following dates leading to a Jan. 27 election:

• Nomination papers available Oct. 20, 2008
• Nomination papers due Dec. 1, 2008
• Absentee ballots available Dec. 29, 2008 (will likely be available earlier)
• Special Election Jan. 27, 2009