The aftermath of a contentious 2024 in Marblehead — marked by a teacher strike and a chaotic MBTA Communities debate — has spawned a wave of citizen initiatives aimed at reforming how the town conducts its municipal business. When voters gather May 5 at Veterans Middle School, they’ll consider eight petitions, filed by citizens, covering everything from lobster trap storage to a recall provision.
Recall option for elected officials
A recall for elected officials returns to the Town Meeting warrant this year.
Resident Luisa Boverini sponsored the petition, which, if passed, would need approval from the state Legislature. Here are some of the details:
—A minimum of 25 registered voters file an affidavit naming the elected official targeted for recall and the reasons for the recall.
— The petitioner must then collect the signatures of at least 15% of the town’s registered voters.
— If those conditions are met, the board of registrars of voters would order that written notice be sent to the recalled official, who has seven days to resign.
“It definitely stems and emerges from the ongoing struggles that educators have had with the elected and appointed officials in the town,” Boverini said, referring to last year’s teacher contract talks and strike.
“Basically, what the intent was was to get something similar to what Swampscott has … in terms of their recall. It seemed to me like a practical thing to do. I felt like it was something that should be in our bylaws anyway.”
The Current reached out to all five members of the School Committee for comment and did not receive a response.
Last year, a citizen petition calling for a recall was indefinitely postponed.
Department heads residency requirements
When asked about a proposal requiring department heads to live in Marblehead, Finance Director Aleesha Benjamin highlighted a stark reality: With median home prices exceeding $1.2 million, most municipal leaders would struggle to afford living where they work without significant pay increases.
A citizen petition seeks to advise the Select Board to mandate that all department and division heads reside within town boundaries. Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer warns the requirement would significantly reduce the pool of qualified candidates for critical positions.
“It would be penny wise and pound foolish,” Kezer said. “We’ve got strong background requirements. These are unique skill sets that are in high demand, and there’s just not enough pool for the demand right now.”
Benjamin noted that maintaining independence as a nonresident can benefit the town.
“You want an outside person without a vested interest to do what’s best for the town, not what’s best for themselves,” she said.
The petition’s sponsor, Philip Mancuso, did not respond to the Current’s request for comment. Several Marblehead department heads already live in town, but some do not, including Kezer, Benjamin, Police Chief Dennis King, Marblehead Public Schools Superintendent John Robidoux and Building Commissioner Steve Cummings. The petition does not include a grandfather clause to keep these officials employed.
Motions for reconsideration
Democracy is rarely neat, and Town Meeting proved that last May when a motion to reconsider the MBTA Communities Act threw the proceedings into turmoil. What began as an orderly debate turned chaotic after Article 36 failed 377-410.
Resident Angus McQuilken’s attempt to revive the measure ignited shouts of “Sham!” from the floor, and frustration boiled over as one attendee hurled a microphone and voting clicker onto the stage in protest.
Attorney John DiPiano’s citizen petition would require future reconsideration motions be made within 30 minutes by someone who voted in favor initially – addressing issues exposed by the town’s new electronic voting system.
“It appears that the motion for reconsideration filed last year was calculated to coincide with people leaving Town Meeting after the vote was taken, in a partisan attempt to reverse that vote and disenfranchise the majority,” DiPiano said. “As we witnessed, many people — including a significant portion of individuals who voted in favor of Article 36 — were angered by the maneuver.”
DiPiano argues the anonymous nature of electronic voting has created a procedural loophole.
“The electronic voting devices now make it impossible to determine whether someone moving for reconsideration voted on the prevailing side and has changed their mind,” he said. “This is important because motions for reconsideration should not be abused by people who voted against a warrant article to simply gerrymander a revote.”
McQuilken opposes the 30-minute limit on reconsideration.
“It runs contrary to established parliamentary procedure which sets a deadline of either the same day or meeting to make such a motion,” he said. “A 30-minute limitation would effectively eliminate the opportunity for a voter at Town Meeting to make a motion to reconsider.”
Parliamentarian
Meanwhile, a separate petition by resident Jack Buba would create an independent parliamentarian position, addressing what he sees as an inherent conflict when the town attorney advises on procedural matters. A parliamentarian in this context would be an independent advisor to the Town Moderator ensuring Town Meeting procedures are followed impartially and without influence from town officials.
“The town attorney is hired by the Selectmen,” Buba explained. “When a question at Town Meeting comes up, oftentimes the town moderator will seek the advice of town counsel who then decides whether the motion is in or out of order.”
When asked to weigh in on the parliamentarian and reconsideration citizen petitions, Town Moderator Jack Attridge wrote in an email: “While I will not be delving into the specifics of any warrant article, in general, my role as an elected moderator is to preside and regulate the proceedings of Town Meeting. The manner in which I fulfill this duty is at my discretion.”
According to the Massachusetts Municipal Association, “The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a town management position are determined and defined locally, by a special act approved by the Legislature or the town charter.” This local autonomy allows towns to implement positions such as an independent parliamentarian if they choose to do so.
Yard storage of fishing gear
Local lobsterman Ray Bates filed a petition to change the town’s zoning bylaws to allow fishermen to store their gear and lobster traps on their own residential property from November 1 to May 1.
“I’ve been a lobsterman for 40 years and up and down the East Coast towns allow storage of lobster traps in yards or they set up some sort of public area where the lobstermen can store their traps,” Bates told the Current. The Harbormaster’s Office charges lobstermen $1 per trap for storage at a Village Street parking lot each season.
Bates argues that local lobstermen face enough economic challenges as it is, without having to find and pay for storage for their traps for the five months that they’re required to remove them from the ocean.
“Marblehead’s town seal is the fisherman,” Bates said. “We just want the town to give us some slack and please let us store our traps in our yards.”
Bates said he was prompted to file the petition by the case of a Marblehead resident complaining about traps being stored in his neighbor’s yard.
“We’re small businessmen,” he said, adding that the number of local lobstermen is dropping steadily.
There are more than 50 fishermen out of Marblehead and 15-18 store traps at the Village Street lot, according to Harbormaster Mark Souza. The storage fees bring in $3,000 to $5,000 a year.
Asked whether he supports Bates’ citizen petition, Souza had no comment.
Auditing the town
One citizen petition calls for establishing an independent town audit process, though officials note the town already undergoes regular external financial reviews.
The petition, sponsored by Mancuso, seeks to appropriate up to $100,000 from free cash to fund an independent audit examining departmental budgets and recommending policy changes to control town costs. The Finance Committee, rather than town officials, would select the auditor.
Benjamin recently announced Marblehead has engaged Roselli, Clark & Associates as its new external auditor for fiscal year 2024, replacing longtime auditor Powers & Sullivan. The change was made to bring “fresh eyes and transparency” to the process.
The current audit contract shows the town paying $76,000 for fiscal year 2024 for comprehensive financial reviews, with costs rising to $88,000 by 2026.
Eliminate sustainability coordinator position
Marblehead resident Emily DeJoy has filed a citizen petition seeking to eliminate the town’s sustainability coordinator position, citing concerns about administrative costs amid financial challenges.
The position, created at 2023 Town Meeting to help Marblehead achieve net zero emissions by 2040, is currently held by Logan Casey, who focuses on coastal resiliency and municipal energy efficiency initiatives among other responsibilities.
“The addition of a sustainability coordinator position raises questions,” DeJoy wrote to the Current. “The town has been asked to approve Proposition 2½ tax overrides to maintain essential services, and we are facing pressing issues such as the transfer station, high school roof, deteriorating roads and aging infrastructure.”
Town officials strongly oppose eliminating the role. Kezer called Casey “an invaluable member of our team.”
Sustainable Marblehead Executive Director Elaine Leahy emphasized the position’s importance for a coastal community.
“We already feel the effects of flooding in our coastal zones,” she said. “The harbor is the heart and soul of our community, and to put that at risk because that is our biggest risk — flooding and sea level rise — makes no sense.”
Casey declined to comment. Since his appointment as Marblehead’s sustainability coordinator in early 2024, Casey, with an annual salary of $73,111.70, has led several initiatives to advance the town’s environmental objectives. He has also helped with grants, most recently a $92,000 Americans with Disabilities grant for Devereux Beach.
DeJoy underscored that “this petition is not a reflection on the individual in the role but rather a broader conversation about fiscal responsibility.”
Separating override requests
Resident John Prindiville’s petition is “To see whether the town will vote to advise the Select Board to present any Proposition 2 1/2 tax override articles to the voters on the ballot as single items, corresponding to the articles as presented and passed at Town Meeting.”
Asked about the goal of his petition, Prindiville said, “This allows voters to approve or reject each override individually, rather than being forced to accept bundled items. The goal is to encourage the Select Board to present overrides in a menu format that reflects how they were approved at Town Meeting.”
Prindivlle added “The petition is about giving voters more control. It ensures they can approve override expenditures they support without having to accept others they oppose. Transparency is crucial. Each override should stand on its own so that advocates can present their projects without them being overshadowed by unrelated proposals.”
It is the Select Board that places town overrides on the warrant. Select Board Chair Erin Noonan said a menu-approach may make sense in some cases. “The downside to always doing is it could create competition among departments and adversely impact essential but under-appreciated needs and under-represented groups. For example, only about one in five households have a student in MPS.”
Marblehead’s 2025 Annual Town Meeting will convene at 7 p.m. on Monday, May 5, in the Veterans Middle School Auditorium at 1 Duncan Sleigh Square. The meeting will continue on successive nights until all business is concluded.
