Meetings Ahead
Most meetings in Truro are remote. Go to Truro-ma.gov and click on the meeting you are interested in. The agenda includes instructions on how to join.
Thursday, Jan. 11
- Board of Assessors, 1 p.m.
- Housing Authority, 5 p.m., Public Library
Tuesday, Jan. 16
- Budget Task Force, 8:30 a.m.
- School Council, 3:30 p.m., hybrid
- Board of Health, 4:30 p.m., hybrid
Wednesday, Jan. 17
- Cemetery Commission, 9 a.m., Town Hall
Thursday, Jan 18
- Pamet Harbor Commission, 3 p.m., Town Hall
- Charter Review Committee, 5 p.m.
Conversation Starter
Two New Republican Registrars
After a drawn-out selection process, the select board appointed two Republican registrars on Jan. 9 for terms ending March 30, 2025. Heather Harper’s temporary appointment will become long-term, and registered Republican Fran Johnson will fill the fourth seat on the board.
Harper and Johnson were selected from a list of six candidates submitted by the chair of the Republican town committee, Tim Hickey. The others were Steven Garvan, James Goshen, Dennis O’Brien, and Steven Sollog.
Harper was selected based on the strength of her work on the board of registrars thus far. “I’m very dedicated to this committee at this time,” she told the select board on Tuesday. “I learned a lot from the hearings and the process, and it made me even more dedicated to protecting the integrity of the election process and protecting voters’ rights.”
Vice chair Sue Areson supported Harper. “I’m a firm believer that if someone is working on a board and doing good job, it just doesn’t feel right to ask that person to step down even though it was a temporary appointment,” Areson said.
Johnson said that he had attended a couple of the voter challenge hearings and enjoyed them, which inspired him to apply. “I would like to ensure that people get a chance to vote above board,” he told the select board.
All six candidates answered questions about whether they had attended the recent voter challenge hearings and whether they had confidence in their ability to make unbiased decisions.
Garvan and Goshen had not attended any of the hearings. Sollog had, “and I was vocal about my opinion of them on public media, which may not exactly help me in this endeavor,” he told the board. “I was not especially happy with the challenges and it affecting the town meeting the way it did. That was very troubling to me.”
O’Brien, a financial executive, attended most of the hearings and “found the whole process fascinating.”
Select board member John Dundas was for O’Brien and Johnson, while the other select board members were for Harper and Johnson. “Mr. O’Brien had a really strong interview, and there are about three committees I want to put him on other than this,” said select board chair Kristen Reed.
Dundas supported his colleagues’ choices, and the final votes on the appointments were unanimous. —Sophie Mann-Shafir
