Governor Healey signs into law expansion of Mattapoisett Select Board

MATTAPOISETT — Gov. Maura Healey signed a bill into law on Friday, Aug. 22 that will expand the Mattapoisett Select Board from three to five members.

Healey’s signature ended a three-month long process that began when Town Meeting voters approved the expansion in May of this year.

“As soon as it was signed by the governor, it became the law,” said state Rep. Mark Sylvia, who spearheaded the expansion bill in Boston with state Sen. Mark Montigny. 

Healey signed the expansion bill amid local efforts to maintain a three member board through a new vote at a Special Town Meeting — proposed via citizen petition. 

On Friday, Aug. 22, Town Clerk Catherine Heuberger certified Paul Criscuolo’s citizens petition, which seeks to maintain a three member board.

Criscuolo chose to create the petition after noticing that “many people” were upset and surprised by the outcome of the previous vote. He also questioned why the Board’s set-up needed to change when it was unclear whether there would be any efficiency gain and argued that the Board demonstrated “no evidence of dysfunction.”

The petition garnered over 280 signatures at the time of submission, according to Criscuolo. He also said there are more signatures to send in.

By receiving more than 200 signatures, the town is legally required to have a Special Town Meeting — despite the state government’s finalization of the expansion. 

However, no matter the outcome of the Special Town Meeting, the Select Board will still become a five member board in May.

At a Select Board meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 26, member Jordan Collyer said that any vote at the Special Town Meeting would be “non-binding and more like an opinion poll.”

He stated that the town is obligated to hold a Special Town Meeting, "irrelevant of cost, practicality or common sense,” within 45 days of the citizen petition being certified — but officials have not yet decided on a date.

The initial citizens petition to expand the board was submitted by Nicki Demakis, who previously stated that expanding the Board would create opportunities for “many more people to provide … service to the town.”

Demakis also argued at Town Meeting that a larger Board could “leverage more perspectives and skills, enhancing the depth and breadth of decision making.”

Town Meeting’s approval brought the petition before the Select Board, which voted to move the expansion request to state officials on Tuesday, June 10.

The bill was enacted on Thursday, Aug. 21 in both the Massachusetts House and Senate and was signed into law by Healey one day later.

Sylvia said that since the law is now in effect, the town will convert to a five member Select Board with the Annual Town Election in May 2026.

During the 2026 election, the three candidates who receive the most votes will be elected to the Select Board. The candidate with the most votes will serve for three years, the second-place candidate will serve for two years and the third candidate will serve for one year.

According to Demakis, this process is done for stability and to ensure only two seats appear on the ballot each year following the 2026 election.

“There’s only going to be two people who are up for reelection at any given time because they serve a three year term,” she said.