WESTPORT – There will soon be many new faces on the Board of Selectmen. The transitions began to take place at the last two selectmen meetings.
Assistant Planner Lucy Tabit on Monday was named the new administrative assistant to the board; longtime assistant Diane Pelland has departed to become Swansea’s town clerk, pending her unopposed election in that town. Tabit has worked for the town for 17 years.
Tabit has spent the past nine as an assistant planner and the previous eight working in the tax collector's office.
Pelland has worked for 15 years as Westport’s administrative assistant and as confidential clerk.
Meanwhile, last Monday was the final selectmen meeting for three-term Selectman Craig Dutra and two-term Selectman R. Michael Sullivan. Dutra and Sullivan decided not to run for re-election in Tuesday’s Annual Town Election.
Both Dutra and Sullivan have complimented the candidate pool and noted that these qualified candidates are part of the reasons why they both would like to step down.
Fellow selectmen Brian Valcourt, Steven Ouellette and Shana Shufelt ended Monday’s meeting by praising the efforts of both selectmen.
Valcourt said there have been contentious boards in the past. He said Dutra and Sullivan have been part of a board that has helped work together to get things done.
“This has been a great experience. The ability to work in your local community and your adopted home town has been great. This town has an awful lot of spirit, passion and commitment and very few resources,” Dutra said. “This town, even in comparable sized towns, does a lot more with less.”
Sullivan served on the Conservation Commission before running for selectman in 2012. He called his work in the town an "unexpectedly fulfilling exercise."
“I have met a lot of people that I otherwise would not have met in this town. There is a couple hundred people very involved in the town enterprise,” Sullivan said. “It has been a privilege to be part of it. These people care a lot about the town and it has been a privilege and honor to be part of that enterprise.”