The Select Board needed just two minutes on Wednesday to fill out the committee charged with finding the town’s next chief administrative officer.
Gregory Hanley, George O’Toole, and Ted Duggan were chosen to join Select Board Chair Roger Woods, Select Board Vice-Chair Suzanne Djusberg, Finance Committee Chair Matt Salah, and School Committee member Caroline Ellis on the seven-member search committee.
Town Manager Scott Lambiase is leaving to take the town administrator role in Kingston. Former Marshfield Town Administrator Michael Maresco has been hired to fill in on an interim basis.
The Select Board received 20 statements of interest from Abington residents interested in serving on the search committee.
Woods opened the selection process by nominating O’Toole, a Crossley Road resident who is a former chair of the Plymouth County Democratic League. In his statement of interest, O’Toole said he has experience with hiring and reviewing requests for proposals.
Djusberg nominated Duggan citing his background in finance and accounting, and that he has five children who have either gone through or currently are students in Abington schools. Duggan’s statement of interest said he’s an executive at U.S. Bank.
Donovan nominated Hanley, who is currently a Plymouth County Commissioner, but previously served for years as a Quincy City Councilor, as well as a selectman in Pembroke, and also spent time as the Town Administrator in Holbrook and Dracut. He moved to Abington in 2022.
All three candidates said in their statements of interest they have not served on any Abington boards and committees. Donovan said at a previous meeting he would not support any candidates that are currently on town boards or have served in the past.
Woods moved for immediate votes after each nomination, preempting any opportunity for discussion.
O’Toole and Duggan were appointed unanimously. Hanley received a 4-1 vote, with Selectwoman Nicole Emery dissenting.
“Nothing against Greg, I just think there’s other people I’d like to consider,” said Emery.
Neither Emery nor Paul Bunker had the opportunity to offer nominations to the search committee.
Emery said in an email to Abington News that she went into the meeting realizing not every board member would get a chance to offer a nomination.
“I had spent considerable time going through each candidate and prepared ahead of time,” she said. “I marked the candidates I would be a yes vote for as well as ones I would have needed further discussion about.”
The open Town Manager job was posted on the Mass. Municipal Association website on Dec. 1.
The post says candidates must have “at least a bachelor’s degree and have 5 years of full-time compensated managerial experience in either the public or business environment.”
According to the updated charter residents ratified in 2024, candidates for town manager “shall be a person especially fitted by education and demonstrated professional experience which shall consist of at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited degree granting college or university, or an equivalent amount of senior management professional experience as may be determined by the Selectboard, provided that the Town Manager’s professional experience shall include at least five (5) years of full-time, compensated service in a managerial capacity in public or business administration.”
Candidates have until Jan. 5, 2026 to apply for the position.
The charter also prohibits sitting Abington officials from applying for the town manager role.