Former Swampscott selectman returns

SWAMPSCOTT-A former selectman, who resigned more than a year ago, is ready to jump back into local politics.Reid Cassidy resigned from the Board of Selectmen in June 2007 due to time constraints.?I was very conflicted when I resigned,” he said. “I didn’t want to step down but because of work and attending law school I didn’t have the time to devote to the job of being a selectman. I am finished with school and am in a position where I will have more time to dedicate to the town. I am seriously considering running for selectman in the next town election.”At the time he resigned, Cassidy was attending law school on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and the selectmen voted to change the meetings to Tuesday evening, even though he made it clear he could not attend that night. The change in meeting nights meant Cassidy would have missed six months of meetings.?It wouldn’t have been fair to the residents I was elected to represent,” he said. “As much as I didn’t want to step down I didn’t think I had a choice.”After Cassidy resigned, the town held a special election to fill his seat for the remainder of his unexpired term. Selectman Jill Sullivan won the Oct. 2, 2007 special election for that seat. But if Cassidy runs for selectmen in April, he will be vying for the seat currently held by Selectman Adam Forman.Calls to Forman regarding whether he intends to run for re-election were not immediately returned on Friday.Cassidy said he believes he has a lot to bring to the table because he has nine years of experience as a selectmen under his belt. He added no current member of the Board of Selectmen is a Swampscott native.?I think we need to get some people on the Board who have been in town for a long time,” he said. “We also need someone with a lot of experience.”