PARIS — In a surprise move, a selectman whose position on the board was to be tested next week in a recall election has tendered his resignation.

Chairman David Ivey opened Monday’s meeting by announcing that Troy Ripley, who was not present, had resigned effective immediately. Petitions for the recall of both Ivey and Ripley were submitted in December and stated that signing voters had “lost confidence” in both selectmen.

Ripley was elected in June by a vote of 498-449 over Rick McAllister, a sergeant and accident reconstruction specialist with the Maine State Police. Ripley also ran for selectman in 2008, coming in third with 579 votes in an election for two open seats.

At his first meeting on the board in June, Ripley was named vice chairman and voted in favor of terminating former Town Manager Sharon Jackson’s contract with the town. The action carried 3-2.

The next month, Jackson filed a lawsuit in the Oxford County Superior Court appealing her dismissal. The suit charges that Ripley was not a valid member of the board at the time because his term should not have commenced until July 1. It also accused Ripley, Ivey and Selectman Glen Young of taking part in “clandestine meetings or communications outside lawful sessions of the board of selectmen.”

Petitions for the recall of Ripley and Ivey were followed by petitions for the recall of Selectmen Raymond Glover and Lloyd “Skip” Herrick, which stated that signers had “lost faith in (the selectmen’s) ability to make important decisions and faithfully act in the best interest of the whole town of Paris.”

Recall elections are set for Ivey and Glover on Feb. 1 and Ripley and Herrick on Feb. 5. The latter election will still take place despite Ripley’s resignation.

Ripley did not return a phone call for comment on Monday, but in a previous e-mail to the Sun Journal he said he had been the target of harassment while on the board.

“The political action committee Paris Citizens for Responsible Government wishes to overturn a popular election in which their candidate lost by 50 votes. Their goal appears to be reversing direction back to the place where, as Selectman Glover pointed out at Monday night’s meeting, the town manager is allowed to operate independently without the selectmen’s permission or knowledge,” he said on Nov. 10.

“It is unfortunate that regardless of what happens with me, I doubt in the future many will be willing to serve our community knowing their friends and family will have to endure the gauntlet of personal attacks from the Paris Citizens for Responsible Government launched secretly via anonymous letters, phone messages, and the Internet where they are willing to reference the most tragic personal family events as a means to intimidate and influence,” he concluded in the November statement.

Jack Richardson, treasurer of Paris Citizens for Responsible Government, has said it operates as an informal group where contributions are used to pay for mailings and advertisements. The group supported Glover and Herrick in the 2008 selectmen’s election and also published an open letter critical of Jackson’s firing.

Earlier this month, resident Greg Harris registered the group’s name with the state as a political action committee and asked that they stop using it.

Ripley, who owns a construction company, served on the town Budget Committee and a working group whose goal was to address issues with the town’s subdivision ordinance and pass on recommendations to the selectmen. He is also a retired Army master sergeant and combat veteran with a bachelor of science degree from Regents College in New York.

Ripley was also a strong proponent of an article to borrow up to $240,000 over a five-year period to conduct a town-wide revaluation. He said the move would equalize property values and allow the town to hire a part-time, rather than a full-time, tax assessor. The article was defeated at a special town meeting.

In another e-mail to the Sun Journal on Dec. 15, Ripley said he had donated the stipend he received as a selectman to the Paris Firemen’s Association.

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