On Wednesday, October 1, Somerset County Commissioner Cyprien Johnson announced he was stepping down as he no longer resided within the district. Following the recent closing on the sale of his home in Madison, Johnson has relocated to property his family owns in Skowhegan. County Charter and State statute require that a County Commissioner reside within the boundaries of the district they represent.
Johnson, who has a long history of local public service as a member of Select Boards in Skowhegan and Madison in addition to a decade as a County Commissioner, said that the October 2st meeting was his last. He was reelected to a third term as commissioner in November of 2024.
According to Somerset’s Charter, “when a vacancy occurs in a commissioner’s office by death, resignation, permanent incapacity or forfeiture of office, the Board of Commissioners shall call for a caucus of the municipal officers of that district to appoint a person eligible to fill the vacancy. A notice of said caucus shall be sent to all applicable municipal officers. Forfeiture of office occurs when a commissioner is no longer eligible;”
Notice of the vacancy has been sent via email to the towns within District 2 which include Anson, Madison, Mercer, New Portland, Smithfield, Starks, Highland Plantation, Lexington, Concord and Townships within Central or Northwest Somerset UT. The notice asks municipal leaders to consider and submit candidates to fill the vacancy to the County Administrators office.
Once candidates have been identified, the Commissioners will call for a caucus of municipal officers within District 2 to meet at the County Courthouse and elect the replacement Commissioner to serve through December 31, 2026. In November 2026, a special election will be held to fill the remaining two years of Johnson’s term.
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