SWAMPSCOTT, MA -- Former Marblehead Town Administrator Jason Silva was chosen to be the preferred candidate as the next town administrator in Swampscott in a split vote of the Select Board on Tuesday night.
While Select Board members praised both candidates, the majority fell on Silva's side based on his experience in leading Marblehead for three years and Dunstable for two years, compared to fellow finalist Nick Connors, the assistant town administrator in Milton for the past 16 months, who formerly worked for the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
"I feel that's what the town needs right now -- experience," said Select Board member MaryEllen Fletcher, who made the motion for Silva as the preferred candidate. "If they are both even, that would be the difference. And I don't think they're even. I think he has more experience in all aspects of what it's going to take."
Silva, a Beverly resident, told the Select Board that he resigned in Marblehead in 2022 after he said he was "cooked" amid the intense pressures of COVID and pending financial disarray, but that he was prepared to return to the North Shore after a stint leading the small Central Massachusetts town.
"I realized I needed a break from municipal government," Silva said of his departure from Marblehead. "In the back of my mind, I always felt like I'd come back to it at some point. But at that moment, it was time for me to take a break for my physical health, for my mental health, for my family. So that was the main driver in Marblehead. It was time. I felt it. ...
"I think I'm in a much different place from where I was then. I am so grateful for where I am now (in Dunstable) because it allowed me to rediscover my joy in the work. And my passion for the work."
Silva talked about his "kitchen conversations" with residents during a tax override push in Dunstable and how he would show the staff Boston Celtics videos -- specifically Larry Bird stealing the ball against the Detroit Pistons in the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals -- as a way to relate real-life sports teamwork situations to staff cohesion toward a common goal.
"I don't know how the staff will feel about watching Celtics videos," Select Board member Doug Thompson said. "But that did stand out for me about his level of commitment. I don't think he was just saying that he learned something from that. Whether there was a deep, deep story there or one or two people who were cranky, or had a bad experience, I think there was learning that happened there."
Select Board member David Grishman said that while he felt both candidates could be successful in Swampscott, Silva "has proven that he can tackle the role."
"It comes down to that experience," Grishman said. "All else equal, we have someone who has proven that he can run a municipality. I find that incredibly important."
The initial comments indicated a 3-2 split among the Select Board members between preferred candidates, with Select Board Chair Katie Phelan seeming to change her vote in favor of Silva to make it a more decisive, 4-1 final vote.
The Board then moved into executive session to begin contract preparations, with the official vote being to make Silva the first preferred choice and Connors a contingency choice if a contract is not successfully finalized with Silva.
(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)