MARBLEHEAD — The Board of Selectmen and current Municipal Light Commission members voted to appoint Google’s Head of Product Partnerships, Cloud AI Adam Smith to fill a vacancy on the commission after interviewing eight candidates at a joint meeting Wednesday evening.
The Municipal Light Commission is responsible for directing the Marblehead Municipal Light Department and serves as its governing body. The board and commission asked Smith and the other seven candidates — Peter Barnet, James Full, Christopher Hardy, Matthew Harrington, Igor Pedan, Thomas Veilleux, and Jim Zisson — seven identical questions, including what skills they would bring to the organization. Smith said he will bring valuable project management skills, as well as the ability to help with large information technology projects, including moving internal files to the cloud.
Smith lives in town and has three daughters that attend three different schools in Marblehead. He said after living in large cities most of his life, he was impressed by the Marblehead Municipal Light Department and its slogan, “Owned by the People We Serve!” The town voted in 1894 to authorize the formation of its own municipal light department. Since then, the department has provided electric power to residents and businesses in Marblehead.
“The fact that we can make our own decisions as a community for our own utility is empowering,” Smith said during the meeting.
During the interviews, the Board of Selectmen and the commission also asked candidates to propose an initiative that would reduce customer rates and greenhouse gas emissions. Smith said despite many people’s hesitation, the two reductions can be compatible.
Smith said by diversifying energy and creating more opportunities to operate based on solar power, for example, the department could arrive at prices that are more stable and predictable. He added that the commission should consider time-of-use rates, which would incentivize people to use less electricity during peak hours when it is most expensive for the department to operate.
“We are most vulnerable to rate rises with burning fossil fuels… Marblehead’s power that is not fossil fuels is at more of a set price,” Smith said during the meeting. “We’re not the first to [diversify energy.] Other light boards have done this and I think we can learn from them.”
Notably, candidate Veilleux was the runner-up, receiving four votes from board and commission members, while Smith received five in the final vote. Veilleux said he runs the Industrial Control Division for Interstate Electrical Services, a privately held electrical services company serving greater New England. Veilleux said during his interview that even if he was not chosen, he would continue to be a set of “community eyes” and read the commission’s minutes.
Rachel Barber can be reached at [email protected].
