— John Maher, an attorney who served the town in counsel roles from 1974 to 2008 and has since been active in Town Meeting and on two town boards;
— Jim Munsey, a semiretired professional in management and software who since 2012 has been a driver for the Council on Aging (he told YourArlington Dec. 14 that he has withdrawn);
— Dave Levy, a vice president of tax-advantaged investments at State Street Bank and a Precinct 18 Town Meeting member;
— Taryn Walsh, who has no formal political experience, is on the executive board of Local 401, IATSE, a union representing technicians and artisans. Her father was Bob Walsh, a selectman from 1974 to 1990.
— Samantha Nugent, a family nurse practitioner in postacute care at IPC Healthcare/TEAM Health, Dedham.
Responses from 4 candidates
Munsey explained why he withdrew: “My reason for applying to fill the open selectman seat was to be a backup candidate in the event no prior selectman stepped up to fill that position.” In the light of two former-selectman candidates, “I withdrew my submission for the position yesterday [Dec. 13] via a telephone conversation with Marie Krepelka in the Selectman’s Office.
“My only purpose in applying for the position was to be of service to Arlington in the best way possible.” Munsey serves on the Council on Aging.
Meanwhile, the Town Manager Act suggests that candidates serving on town board may have to step back from them while serving as a selectman.
Rowe, who chairs the Community Preservation Act Committee, and Maher, who serves on the Permanent Town Building Committee as well as the Cable Advisory Committee, responded that they would step down.
LaCourt, who serves on Vision 2020’s Standing Committee, wrote: “Were I chosen I would do whatever town council advised.”
The Town Manager Act says: “A member of the Board of Selectmen, or of the school committee, or of the finance committee shall, during the term for which he was elected or appointed, be ineligible either by election or appointment, to hold any other town office, except the office of town meeting member and except membership on a committee, board, or commission when participation of such member is required by Town Bylaw or by a vote of the Town Meeting ….”
The board seat was vacated Dec. 11, the effective date of Steven M. Byrne’s resignation. The selectman since 2012 announced his plan to resign his seat on Nov. 20, citing the workload from his current day job and the impact on his recent marriage. He became a vice president of Beacon Strategies Group, a lobbying firm, late last July.
Under the Town Manager Act, the four remaining selectmen plus the town moderator, John Leone, must choose who to fill the seat. The choice is expected to be made Monday, Dec. 18, after interviewing all candidates. The board also plans to decide Byrne’s replacement as vice chair.
Nov. 20, 2017: Selectman Byrne to bow out in December, cites job impact
This news summary was published Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017, and updated Dec. 15, after one candidate withdrew, and Dec. 16, to add information.
