Chelsea chooses new Selectboard members after mass resignation last fall

By RAY COUTURE

Valley News Correspondent

Published: 01-04-2023 10:52 PM

CHELSEA — Voters have replaced the four members of the Selectboard who resigned in November after a public spat with the town’s road crew.

Top vote-getters were:

■Kelly Lyford, who ran unopposed to serve the final two months of a three-year term;

■William Lyon, who will serve out the final two months of a one-year term. He outpolled Dylan Greer, 169-37;

■Kevin Marshia, who will serve one year remaining on a two-year term after besting Ronald Johnson, 158-55;

■Leyna Holt, who will serve two years of a three-year term after defeating Nick Zigelbaum, 139-59.

Town Clerk Karen Lathrop announced the results of the Jan. 3 special town election in a post to the Chelsea Community page on Facebook on Tuesday night.

The special election was needed after four of the town’s five Selectboard members, including its chairman and vice chairman, resigned in the wake of a fiery special Selectboard meeting in early November. Chelsea residents had demanded the return of town road foreman Rick Ackerman, who had quit after a series of disagreements with the Selectboard over the budget of the town highway department, and the board members resigned in protest.

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Ackerman returned to his post almost immediately, with the town posting an announcement in the aftermath of the special Selectboard meeting that Ackerman’s resignation “was never officially accepted by the Selectboard.”

Ackerman is still working for the town, and there isn’t any indication that will change, Assistant Town Clerk Phyllis Hayward said Wednesday.

Lathrop organized a meet-and-greet with the candidates last month at Chelsea Town Hall and has updated residents on the election process throughout the ordeal. The seven candidates submitted petitions with signatures from at least 10 registered Chelsea voters in order to qualify.

Both Lyford’s and Lyon’s seats will be up for election again at Town Meeting Day on March 7.

In her post, Lathrop said 215 people cast ballots in the election, which was held at the Chelsea Town Hall on Tuesday. There were 955 people registered to vote in Chelsea, putting turnout at about 23%.

The new Selectboard’s first meeting had yet to be scheduled as of Wednesday afternoon, Selectboard Administrative Secretary Marianne McCann said.

Once the new members are sworn in, their first order of business will be determining the organizational structure of the new board, which will include deciding who will be chair and vice chair, McCann said. Town officials plan to post the time of the next Selectboard meeting on the town’s website and on bulletin boards around the community, she said.

Once board leadership is settled, the biggest agenda item on the new Selectboard’s plate will almost certainly be finalizing a town budget proposal for fiscal year 2024 so that residents can access and review it before the Town Meeting vote, Hayward said.

“(The Selectboard) will have to have something in place (for the budget) by the end of January or early February,” Hayward said.

It’s been an unusual past few months for Chelsea’s town government, but Hayward is focusing on to the bright side.

“I’m looking forward to the new Selectboard,” she said. “Young members, new ideas and a new way of doing things, maybe.”

Ray Couture can be reached with questions at 1994rbc@gmail.com.

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