ROCHESTER — The Rochester Board of Selectmen will interview four candidates for a new Town Administrator on Tuesday. On Feb. 17, the board was given a brief introduction to the four finalists. 

Current Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar will leave her current role to becomef town accountant in June. 

Bernard Lynch of Community Paradigm, a consulting firm hired by the town to assist in the search, presented the four finalists at a Feb. 17 Select Board meeting. Lynch said that his firm received 18 applications for the role, two of whom later withdrew.

“It’s a very competitive market right now,” Lynch said. He noted that there are currently about 20 open Town Administrator roles in the state, with more set to open soon as a number of officials are retiring.

Lynch said the finalists were strong. In the first round of interviews, he said candidates were asked about a variety of skills integral to the job: management style, experience with municipal finance, project management, procurement, collective bargaining and communicating with the public and town committees.

“We were looking for someone who was excited about the prospect of being the Town Administrator of Rochester,” Lynch said. 

The candidates have a variety of backgrounds: One town administrator, one assistant town manager, one department head and one person with a mix of private sector and volunteer experience.

The finalists are:

Glenn Cannon, the acting town administrator in Bourne, has worked in that town for about four years. He was hired as an assistant town administrator, and a number of town departments report to him. His experience has been largely project-oriented. 

Prior to that role, Cannon was the director of technical services for the Cape Cod Commission for almost 20 years, Lynch said. He also worked as an engineer, and he has earned a certificate in local government management from Suffolk University. 

Herb Durfee was the town manager of Norwich, VT, until August 2021. Lynch said Durfee’s references said he was “drinking from the fire hose” in that position — starting the role as a major storm caused more than $3 million in damage while two major building projects were underway and amid a spate of retirements. 

Durfee also served as a town manager in Fairhaven, VT, and has been a selectman. His background is in planning and development. Durfee’s contract was not renewed, but Lynch said no one cited a specific reason for that decision beyond wanting to “go into a new direction,” and noted Norwich cycles through town managers every three or four years. Durfee is looking to move closer to family.

Jessica Horsman is the director of public health in Attleboro — a role she’s held for the past two years. 

“Obviously, it’s been a baptism by fire, if you will,” Lynch noted. “By all accounts, she has handled it well.” 

Lynch said Horsman’s experience has been wide-ranging: She’s dealt with procurement, budgeting, codes and planning issues. She’s also worked with public safety agencies, the building inspector and the public. 

Horsman served as a health agent in Seekonk for five years before that. Lynch said Horsman’s references are excellent and said she has a track record of working well with departments and taking on responsibilities beyond public health. 

Prior to that, she worked as an arbitrator for an insurance company before taking time to raise her family. Horsman is in the process of earning a master’s degree in public business information from Bryant University — a program she’ll complete in December.

Ed Swartz has a mix of private sector and municipal experience as a citizen. His career has been in food distribution, but Swartz has spent 19 years on the Finance Committee in Dighton, MA. He was the chair of the Finance Committee before the town hired a town administrator — and was one of the main proponents of creating that role in the town. 

“He served as almost a de facto town administrator,” Lynch said. “He was the one that departments went to for budget issues, staffing issues, projects.”

Swartz is knowledgeable about municipal government, operations, grants and development, Lynch said. He also served as the chair of the Dighton Water District for a number of years where he “straightened out the finances.” He’s also held positions in Taunton. 

The Select Board will interview the finalists at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 22. The meeting will be held in Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way, and will be broadcast via Zoom.