Swampscott committee chair running for selectman

SWAMPSCOTT – Saying now is the time for change, Peter A. Spellios is running for a seat on the Board of Selectmen in the April election.Spellios will take on Selectman Glenn Kessler, who is running for a second, three-year term.For the past 15 months, Spellios has served as chair of the Swampscott Charter Review Committee, a group responsible for making recommendations to Town Meeting on ways to improve town government.?I find myself frustrated most by the silence of our town leaders at times when significant issues are being debated and decided by them, Town Meeting or the town generally,” Spellios said. “I believe the town deserves to hear more often and more clearly from the board of selectmen about the town, what is working, what is not working and what they believe should be done.”Spellios said he and the charter committee would like to change the charter to require the Board of Selectmen to make recommendations on warrant articles at Town Meeting. Their reasoning is the Board of Selectmen is elected to lead, which means to listen to all sides, to study the issues and then to articulate a clear opinion or decision.Besides serving as chair of Charter Review Committee, Spellios is a longtime Town Meeting member and was a member of the Swampscott Zoning Board of Appeals for 10 years. He is a trustee of the Boston Harbor Association and previously served on the board of directors at the Lynch/van Otterloo YMCA in Marblehead.Growing up in Wilbraham in western Massachusetts – the home of Friendly?s – Spellios earned a bachelor?s degree from UMass Amherst and a law degree from Suffolk University Law School. He has lived in Swampscott for 13 years.Election committee chairman Jill Sullivan said he submitted more than three times the required 50 signatures.?I?ve worked with him in various capacities on committees for 12 years,” Sullivan said. “Once he has gotten all the facts, he listens to everyone?s side of the story. I?ve been asking him for years to become a candidate.”Among other goals, Spellios said he has a plan to achieve greater participation in town government by talented and dedicated citizens.?Swampscott does a lot of things extremely well and has a lot of things that many communities wish they had,” Spellios said. “The debate in our town is rightfully focused on the best way to handle the challenges we face – such as how to handle surplus town properties, Humphrey Street and aging schools. We have just not found the right answers yet.”Spellios doesn?t claim to have all the answers but knows one can?t do the same thing and expect better results.He said he looks forward to talking to as many people as possible – both inside and outside government – in the coming months to get a better understanding of how best to improve Swampscott. He would love to move Swampscott forward now, not some day down the road.?I am prepared to be the clear, decisive leader Swampscott needs,” he said.Spellios and his wife, Rebecca, have three children.Swampscott?s town election will be held April 28.