Saugus swears in new Board of Selectmen

SAUGUS – Scott Crabtree was unanimously voted to take over as Chairman of the Board of Selectmen Wednesday night, as Town Clerk Joanne Rappa swore in the new board at the Town Hall auditorium.Crabtree won re-election with 2,924 votes Tuesday and will be replacing State Rep. Donald Wong in the center seat.?I want to thank my wife and children for their support,” said Crabtree. “I appreciate the trust the public and residents have put into me and I believe we?re going to work together and continue to move things forward. It?s all about prioritizing and looking at where we can invest ? to make this a better community that?s more attractive.”Michael Serino netted the second most votes with 2,608 and was unanimously voted to serve as Vice Chairman Wednesday.?It?s been an exciting two years with my two other colleagues and we accomplished a lot,” said Serino. “I think it?s going to be a good working board and I?m looking forward to the next two years.”Steve Castinetti served on the board from 2007 to 2009 and thanked voters for returning him to the Board of Selectman.?I want to thank my wife and all the folks who helped me with signs and all the campaign issues that come up,” said Castinetti. “And especially the voters in the town that had the faith to put me back here after a couple of years off.”Stephen Horlick received 2,413 votes to win his fifth consecutive term on the board and said even though he wasn?t born in Saugus, the town has always treated him like a lifelong resident.?I came here about 20 years ago and through everything that I?ve noticed over the last years on the board, was that Saugus opened up its arms and treated me like I was a Saugonian and I was actually born here,” said Horlick. “I want to thank this town that took me in as one of their own.”Newcomer Debra Panetta has been a Town Meeting member for the last 10 years and said she?s looking forward to the challenge of being a first-time selectman.?All of these four gentlemen have been selectmen before, so I need to learn an awful lot about what I need to do as selectman,” said Panetta. “I?m really looking forward to that ? we have many opportunities to move Saugus forward.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter @MattTempesta.