Politics & Government

Stoughton Selectmen O'Regan, Walsh Sworn-in; Stagnone Maintains Chairmanship

Robert O'Regan and Cynthia Walsh, the two winners in the four-candidate selectmen's race in the April 10 Town Election, were both sworn-in on April 17. John Stagnone was reelected as the Board's chair, while Walsh was selected to be the vice chair.

For the second consecutive year, John Stagnone has been voted chairman of the Stoughton Board of Selectmen by his peers.

In what was a , with Stagnone edging John Anzivino for the position, Stagnone was reelected as chair by a unanimous 5-0 vote Tuesday night.

Newly elected selectman Bob O’Regan nominated Stagnone. There were no other nominations for chairman.

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Selectman Cynthia Walsh, who just won another three-year term on the board in the , was unanimously elected as vice chair. There were no other nominations for vice chair.

John Anderson, who lost his bid for re-election on April 10, had previously served in that capacity. Walsh served as vice chair before that.

Find out what's happening in Stoughtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Stagnone thanked Anderson for his service to the town and said he looked forward to working with the board, “building on the successes from last year.” Stagnone said he wanted to continue to move forward with capital planning.

The reorganization of the board took place on April 17, the first selectmen’s meeting since the , where O’Regan and Walsh defeated Joe Mokrisky and Anderson in a four-way race for two seats on the Board of Selectmen.

O'Regan, an attorney and former member of the Zoning Board of Appeals, topped the ticket with 1,359 votes. Walsh, an incumbent seeking reelection, finished in second with 1,327 votes. She served on the board from 1980-1982 and again from 2009-present.

Mokrisky, who had previously served on the board from 1992-1994; 1996-2001; and 2007-2009, came in third with 1,008 votes. Anderson, the other incumbent, finished with 939 votes. He served from 2009-2012.  

Both O’Regan and Walsh were officially sworn-in by Town Clerk Cheryl Mooney at the April 17 meeting. The board is now comprised of Stagnone (chair), Walsh (vice chair), Anzivino, O'Regan and Steve Anastos.

Following their election night victories, O’Regan and Walsh talked about the importance of the ongoing permanent Town Manager search.

“We have a great opportunity with the selection of a new Town Manager to look for and engage a chief operating officer with the kind of skill set we need to move the town ahead,” O’Regan said on April 10.

“The most important job we have got to do is find a new Town Manager,” Walsh said on April 10. “That’s something that I really think waiting until after the elections wasn’t that great an idea. I thought we could have started the process—at least interview the people for the search committee.”

Interviewing candidates for the Town Manager search committee is one of the items expected to be on the agenda for the board’s April 24 meeting.


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