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North Canaan selectmen choose Chris Sorrell to fill board vacancy

The North Canaan Board of Selectmen is back to full strength following the appointment of local resident and former state trooper Chris Sorrell to fill the vacancy left by Brian Ohler.

First Selectman Jesse Bunce and Selectman Melissa Pinardi appointed Sorrell following a selection process that drew eight candidates. The seat had been vacant since Ohler stepped down July 31 after taking a leave of absence in March for health reasons, leaving the board down to two members for several months.

Sorrell, a Republican, brings a background in municipal finance and public safety to the role. He has served a decade on the North Canaan Board of Finance, an experience Bunce highlighted as crucial for bringing deep familiarity with the town’s fiscal operations. A retired Connecticut State Trooper, Sorrell finished his law enforcement career in 2020 as the resident trooper in Salisbury, after serving the town for nine years.

“His working knowledge of the budget was very important,” Bunce said. “He is a RTC [Republican Town Committee] member, and he just seems to be a well-rounded person for the position. It’s also nice to have the perspective of someone with a family in town.”

Bunce and Pinardi conducted interviews with eight applicants competing for the seat. The pool of candidates included six Republicans, one unaffiliated resident, and one Democrat put forward by the RTC. The RTC formally recommended three candidates to the board, Bunce said, although Sorrell was not one of them.

Bunce, who said Sorrell applied independently, noted that the selection process was competitive, with multiple strong applicants stepping forward to serve.

“There were a lot of good picks—it wasn’t like anybody was a bad pick, really,” Bunce said. “It was just a matter of who would work best with the board.”

Bunce and Pinardi reviewed the candidates individually before comparing notes and arriving at a joint decision to select Sorrell.

Sorrell could not be reached for comment.

Christian Murray
Executive Editor

Christian Murray is executive editor of The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News. A graduate of the Columbia Journalism School, he is a veteran journalist, founding the Queens Post and its network of neighborhood news sites—including the Sunnyside Post, Astoria Post, LIC Post and Jackson Heights Post—and helping pioneer hyperlocal digital journalism in New York City. Before joining LJMN in 2025, he served as managing editor at Schneps Media, overseeing amNewYork, the Queens Courier, the Bronx Times and other local publications. Earlier in his career, Murray was a political reporter for Newsday and a business reporter for Reuters. A native of New Zealand, he says northwest Connecticut reminds him of the landscapes where he grew up—a connection that made the region feel like home from the start.

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