SAUGUS — Town Counsel John Vasapolli cleared Anthony Cogliano to run for posts on both the Board of Selectmen and the Charter Commission this fall — reversing a previous decision after consulting with the elections division of the secretary of state’s office.
Precinct 10 Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian requested the initial opinion from Vasapolli. Citing Michelle Tassineri, legal counsel for the division, Vasapolli wrote in an email addressed to Manoogian that Tassineri had reviewed sections of Saugus’ charter and determined that it did not prohibit residents from holding both positions.
The town charter dictates that no resident can hold more than one “major town-wide” elective office, which the Board of Selectmen counts as, and that “a member of the Board of Selectmen … shall, during the term for which he was elected or appointed, be ineligible either by election or appointment to hold any other town office.”
Vasapolli initially cited those two sections of the charter — Article 2, Section 1A and Article 2, Section 6 — in determining Cogliano was ineligible to run for both posts in a decision last month.
But, in the revised opinion, Vasapolli writes that “an elected Charter Commission member is not included in the definition of a town office defined in General Laws Chapter 41, Section 1 and is therefore not a ‘town office’ referred to in … our town charter.”
Vasapolli also notes that Chapter 268A, Section 1 of the Massachusetts General Laws specifically dictates that charter commissioners are excluded from the definition of municipal employees and thus, the role should not be deemed a second position “for purposes of the conflict of interest law.”
“Lastly, since our charter does not specifically change the charter-amendment process set forth in the state law we must follow the statutory process for the election of charter commissioners,” he wrote.
The amended decision represents a victory for Cogliano, the sitting chairman of the Board of Selectmen, who spent months collecting signatures to get the formation of a Charter Commission on the ballot this fall. Now, cleared to run for both posts, Cogliano, the top vote-getter in the most recent town election, could have the chance to serve as one of the town’s chief executives as a selectman while guiding its future as a charter commissioner.
In a statement, Cogliano said he was thrilled by the revised opinion from Vasapolli and looked forward to the challenges ahead — chiefly, getting a majority of residents to back the formation of a Charter Commission come November.
“I jumped back into politics four years ago hoping to make a positive impact on our town, and I believe I’ve done that, but we have a long way to go,” he said. “I also hope to see some new faces that are looking to move Saugus forward run for Charter Commission.”
The revised opinion also clears members of the School Committee to run for and hold positions on that board and on the Charter Commission.
Residents will be faced with the question of whether or not to form a commission to review the town charter on the November ballot, and will also be tasked with electing a nine-member Charter Commission, which Cogliano will certainly run to be a part of.
