Williamstown Select Board Names Neely to Interim Seat
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A divided Select Board on Tuesday appointed Matt Neely to an interim seat on the five-member panel.
After more than two hours of discussion, the board voted 3-1 to select Neely after two rounds of voting where the four remaining elected officials were deadlocked, 2-2, on how to replace Andrew Hogeland until May's election.
Chair Jane Patton and Vice Chair Jeffrey Johnson argued repeatedly that the board and town would benefit most from having an experienced former member of the board serve the interim role for the next seven months and voted initially to name Hugh Daley, a former three-term Select Board member who was one of three applicants for the job.
Stephanie Boyd and Randal Fippinger argued in favor of having a new voice on the panel.
Ultimately, in the third vote of the night, Johnson switched sides, casting his vote for Neely.
Johnson at the outset disclosed that he had known Neely since the two attended kindergarten classes together in Williamstown and that he considered him a close friend. At a couple of junctures, Johnson talked about how difficult it was for him personally to vote against his friend — who he had encouraged to run for the Select Board before Johnson himself ran — and he stressed that he was trying to keep his personal bias out of the decision making process.
"We're in a fortunate situation to have three solid people who care," Johnson said. "Sometimes experience is overrated. I think in this short, acute time, it's valuable."
Moments later, Johnson made the motion that put Daley's name before the board.
"I am a change agent," Patton said. "I'm not one who rests on: It's always been this way, therefore it has to be this way.
"But in thinking about this and where we're at today, I'm in favor of the candidate who can walk in midstream. We don't need to teach him anything. He's stayed very abreast of things. He always knows what's going on. That, coupled with him having been elected by the people of Williamstown three times makes him, in my opinion, the most obvious and best candidate."
Patton also argued that, by appointing either Alexander Davis or Neely, the four remaining Select Board members would, "intentionally or not," give one of the newcomers a leg up if he decided to run in his own right for a seat on the board in May's town election.
During their statements to the board prior to voting on Tuesday, Neely said he definitely planned to run in the spring, Davis said he planned — if appointed — to see if the job was a good fit before deciding whether to run, and Daley said definitively that he would be done after the seven-month interim appointment.
With those commitments on the table, Fippinger attempted to turn the "experience" argument around.
"If Hugh is definitely not running again, that means 60 percent of the board will be brand new [after May's election]," Fippinger said. "If we bring someone and ramp them up, you'll have a little more experienced board.
"That is a growth opportunity for somebody, and if they choose to run again, there's more experience carried to the next board."
Boyd also expressed concern that with both Fippinger and Patton saying they are not interested in another three-year term when their seats are up for election in May, the board could have 60 percent new members if Daley was appointed and stayed with his decision not to run.
Patton then told her colleagues that she already shared with the three applicants that she is "seriously considering" running for the remaining year left on Hogeland's seat to help provide continuity for the board going into the 2025-26 cycle. If she were elected to serve a 13th year on the board, that would ensure that three of its five members would have experience after May's election.
Johnson asked Town Manager Robert Menicocci to weigh in with any thoughts he might have to help the board reach consensus.
Menicocci spoke from his own experience in government where civil service rules place a premium on experience.
"If we make a choice [in hiring], we're generally accountable to explain why we make a choice," Menicocci said. "At the top of the list is … typically the experience and what the candidate can bring to the job.
"I think in this particular instance, what I'm hearing is there are two groups: folks who want a fresh look and folks who want the experience. In government, we default to the experience. … i get it, it's different for you guys in terms of being public officials. But I think it's important for us to get through our budget season and a few critical projects we need to work on."
After the second 2-2 vote, Patton suggested that the stalemate was insurmountable and that the board should resign itself to having four members until May's town election.
But the other three members argued that they needed to reach a decision — a position shared by Daley.
"I have a feeling this board may be deadlocked on a lot of issues moving forward," he said in a return to the microphone during the board's deliberation. "You need this fifth vote going forward."
Both his "opponents" used their return trips to the microphone to argue that picking an applicant was important – even if they were not the successful applicant.
"It seems like two of the board members would really like someone new," Davis said. "But of the other two members, one has a very strong connection and trust with one of the candidates."
Davis likened the situation to ranked-choice voting, which he advocated for at the state level, and guessed that if there was a ranked-choice system in place for the board, Johnson's "second choice," his childhood friend Neely, would be the pick.
"I"m not happy about that, but that might make Matt the better choice," Davis said. "That is, of course, one path. Of course, alternatively, you could all four vote for me."
A few minutes later, Neely returned to the microphone and said that, like Davis, he was willing to "fall on my sword."
"If this board is going to remain deadlocked, I'd like to remove myself from the running — if it means this board is going to have five members for seven months," Neely said. "I don't want to remove myself from consideration. But, in lieu of that, what would be better for the town is for it to be fully staffed. A more experienced person who could step in seems like the more obvious choice."
That comment appeared to resonate with Johnson.
"The humility Matt [Neely] showed to care for the town enough to back off is tremendous," Johnson said. "I didn't look at it as him conceding. I looked at him as trying to help us reach a consensus. That's what we're looking for in a Select Board member.
"Mr. Daley is still my first choice. But I'm not going home to Mrs. Johnson and saying we didn't have the moxie to make a decision tonight."
Moments later, Patton called for a vote on a motion to appoint Neely, and Boyd, Fippinger and Johnson voted aye.
"Nothing personal, it's all principle," Patton said, looking directly at Neely. "No."
Tags: board vacancies, Selectmen,
