North Canaan settles dispute with former Town Clerk for $48,000

NORTH CANAAN — The Town of North Canaan has agreed to pay former longtime Town Clerk Jean Jacquier $48,000 to settle a lawsuit stemming from a nearly two-year dispute that divided Town Hall and culminated in multiple court battles.

First Selectman Jesse Bunce confirmed the settlement, which was finalized about two weeks ago, following mediation. Of the $48,000 settlement, the town will pay $12,500, while the town’s insurance carrier will cover the remaining $35,500.
The settlement compensates Jacquier for back wages and legal fees, Bunce said.

“We sat down in mediation and went back and forth until we discussed the number that both sides were comfortable with,” Bunce said. “Our insurance company was in on it as well because they picked up a good portion of the cost.”

Bunce said resolving the dispute allows the town to put a difficult chapter behind it.

“That’s behind us, and I think that’s really good for North Canaan, so we can move forward,” he said.

Jacquier, who worked in the Town Clerk’s Office for more than three decades and served as the elected town clerk from 2017 until January 2026, could not be reached for comment.

The settlement resolves a lawsuit Jacquier filed in August 2024 seeking reimbursement for legal expenses she incurred defending herself during a state investigation into her conduct as town clerk.

Years of conflict

The conflict began shortly after Brian Ohler was elected as First Selectman at the end of 2023.
Ohler filed a complaint with the Connecticut Attorney General in January 2024 alleging misconduct by Jacquier, arguing that she had failed to secure the town vault properly, posted election campaign materials in Town Hall, and failed to promptly stamp official documents.

The Attorney General’s investigation concluded in October 2024, finding evidence of wrongdoing in those three areas but imposed no disciplinary action. Instead, the attorney general recommended procedural changes regarding vault security, political activity in Town Hall and document handling. Jacquier was not fired.

Relations between Jacquier and town officials deteriorated further in early 2025.

In February 2025, Jacquier stopped coming to work, saying ongoing conflicts with Ohler and another town employee had created a difficult work environment. She later claimed that she had been subjected to harassment and verbal abuse and that the situation had taken a toll on her health. Ohler could not be reached to refute those claims.

The Board of Selectmen voted in March 2025 to suspend her salary after she remained absent from work. Ohler and then Selectman Craig Whiting voted to suspend her pay, while Bunce abstained.

The dispute escalated again in September 2025 after Jacquier attempted to return to Town Hall to work. She said she found the locks had been changed and was ultimately ordered to leave the building by Connecticut State Police after Ohler requested her removal. Town officials maintained she had abandoned her position, while Jacquier insisted she had never resigned.

Jacquier also became embroiled in a separate legal battle over her 2025 reelection bid after errors in Democratic Party endorsement paperwork rendered her filing invalid. A judge ruled she could not appear on the November ballot.
Returned before leaving office.

Despite the ongoing conflict, Jacquier returned to complete the final weeks of her term as town clerk after Bunce defeated Ohler in the first selectmen’s race in November.

Jacquier said her return was made possible after Bunce and the Board of Finance asked whether she would like to finish her term and that they would reinstate her pay.

“They reached out to me,” Jacquier said in December. “They asked me if I would like to finish my term. And I said, absolutely.”