NAHANT — Board of Selectmen member Rob Tibbo was nominated as the new chair for the board after its meeting on Wednesday evening.
The meeting began with the board welcoming newcomer Pat O’Reilly for his first meeting as a Selectman. With the absence of the former board Chair Josh Antrim, vice chair of the board Eugene Canty was acting as interim for the time being.
“It’s good to be joining you tonight for my first Board of Selectmen meeting, and I thank the voters of Nahant for electing me as a Selectman, and I’m happy to do my part to keep the town moving forward,” O’Reilly said.
Canty then congratulated O’Reilly on his victory in the election and said he did an “outstanding job” with his work campaigning prior to the town election.
Afterward, Canty announced that he was planning on switching things up for a change, before adding that he plans to back away from the position of board chair, where he recommended Tibbo for the role.
“I’m going to back off from the chairmanship opportunity, and I was told that it’s tradition, and that it had to be,” Canty said before referring to Town Administrator Tony Barletta on whether it could be done.
“It is tradition, but it does not have to be — you’re not forced to accept the position if you choose not to serve in that role,” Barletta said. “My recommendation is that, with Rob (Tibbo) being the next most senior member of the board, that he be nominated.”
Barletta then explained that Canty would remain as Vice-Chair, and O’Reilly would assume the role of recording secretary for the board.
“I’ve given it a lot of thought… And Rob has shown himself to be more than capable to be a performance-related chairperson — and over the last year, watching the effort that he makes, the time he puts into it, and the reality of him being a chairperson hit me,” Canty said. “I would like to go in that direction, and then we can go from there.”
Tibbo said he feels “overwhelmed” by all the support he’s received, and feels a mixture of excitement and nervousness about taking over.
“I can’t thank you enough, it’s very humbling, and I certainly appreciate the opportunity to serve,” Tibbo said. “I’ve been looking forward to serving as your vice chair… but I appreciate your thoughts on this, and look forward to continuing on.”
Tibbo added that he’s looking forward to working closely with the rest of the board to “make the board what it has been, and what it will continue to be.”
“It seemed right to me, and it seemed right for the town,” Canty said.
