Select Board agrees on town clerk candidate to appoint

May 18, 2026 | By Lisa Scagliotti 

Following an hour-long interview in closed session on Friday morning, the Waterbury Select Board decided unanimously that it would like to appoint Waterbury lawyer Wesley Pollock to serve as town clerk until Town Meeting Day 2027 and it took a step toward moving the appointment process forward.

The board convened at 8:45 a.m. Friday in a special meeting called to hold the interview. 

Wesley Pollock and Waterbury Recreation Director Erika Linskey clear snow off the ice at the Anderson Park skating rink during the January Christmas tree bonfire. Photo by Gordon Miller

Pollock was the only applicant to submit a letter of interest by the board’s May 1 deadline. He met briefly with the Select Board at its May 5 meeting and the board promised to set up an interview with some town staff members as well as with the full board. 

Friday’s meeting was with four of the Select Board members; Vice Chair Don Schneider did not attend.

The board included Interim Town Manager Bill Woodruff in the executive session to interview Pollock, along with P. Howard “Skip” Flanders, chair of the Edward Farrar Utility Distrct Board of Commissioners, and Liz Schlegel, chair of the Waterbury Board of Civil Authority. 

The board returned to open session an hour later. Member Roger Clapp made a motion for the board to make an offer to Pollock for the position of town clerk, pending positive reference and background checks, and confirmation that he may be bonded, a requirement for that role. The motion was approved 4-0. 

Board Chair Martha Staskus asked Pollock to forward references as soon as possible and to work with staff to complete the other details. The board meets next this Tuesday evening, May 19, and will share an update on that process. The final step would be to vote to appoint Pollock to the position.

Asked about applicants for the clerk appointment over the past month, Clapp said the board received one letter of interest in addition to Pollock’s, but it arrived after the May 1 deadline, and the board was not planning to interview that individual. That application has not been shared publicly.

Not typically an appointment 

The office of town clerk in Waterbury is an elected full-time position. However, this year it has taken on the trappings of a job interview after the March Town Meeting Day election did not result in successfully filling the office.

Former Town Clerk Karen Petrovic, who resigned at the end of 2025, did not seek election, but she won enough write-in votes from voters nonetheless. After consulting with the Select Board following the election, Petrovic decided against accepting the position. She also turned down her write-in election to return as town treasurer, also an elected office that carries part-time duties.

Beth Jones, former assistant town clerk, has been serving as Interim Town Clerk since January. Jones is seeking to retire this year and did not apply for the appointment to serve until March 2027. Bill Shepeluk was appointed to the interim treasurer role in January and on May 5 was appointed to continue in that capacity until next March. That step left the clerk appointment through next March left to be determined.

Elected positions that become vacant between elections are filled by appointment until the next election, when the position will then be on the ballot for whatever time remains in the term. The town clerk and treasurer positions both carry three-year terms and Petrovic’s terms were to end in March 2027. Next March, both offices will be on the ballot for three-year terms to be filled by the voters. 

One applicant 

Friday’s vote to move forward with Pollock’s appointment came before the Select Board shared his application. 

The Select Board has since posted Pollock’s letter of interest and resume with the agenda for its May 19 meeting. It did not share his application materials ahead of the Friday interview meeting, either with the posted meeting agenda or in response to public information requests from the Waterbury Roundabout.

A practicing lawyer since 2017, Pollock moved to Waterbury a little over a year ago from Burlington. “As a Waterbury resident, I am committed to serving the community with professionalism, integrity, and attention to detail,” Pollock writes in applying for the appointment.

Pollock holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Cornell University and joined the Vermont Bar through the Law Office Study Program, an apprentice program and alternative to attending law school. 

He worked for the New York law firm Martin, Harding & Mazzotti, focusing on personal injury, workers’ compensation, and Social Security disability cases. In 2020, he moved to working for Pollock Law, a practice led by his father in Manchester, for which he continues to work on cases part-time now, he said. 

Pollock said he’s prepared to make the shift to the full-time town clerk role if he is appointed. 

At the May 5 Select Board meeting, Pollock was asked about his interest in the appointment. “It seems like a good public service role,” he replied. 

Pollock’s partner is Erika Linskey, who became Waterbury’s recreation director at the start of 2026. Pollock said he’s volunteered at some community events in recent months, including during Waterbury Winterfest for the first time this year, as one way to begin meeting more community members. 

In his letter to the Select Board, he noted the clerk’s role in “maintaining public records, supporting elections, and ensuring transparency and accessibility in local government. I take these responsibilities seriously and would approach the position with diligence and respect for the public trust,” he wrote. 

Pollock said the town clerk duties would allow him to apply his legal training in interpreting statutes, applying rules consistently, and using sound judgment and impartiality. “I am comfortable working with members of the public, meeting deadlines, and maintaining accuracy in official documents,” he said. “I am also committed to providing courteous and responsive service to residents.”

The Select Board’s agenda for Tuesday’s meeting includes an update on the town clerk appointment process.