MATTAPOISETT – As Select Board Chair Jordan Collyer finishes up his sixth term with plans for his seventh, he will have some competition in a fresh face. Donald Lamarr is a newcomer to municipal government who says that he hopes to bring a new perspective.

Election Day in Mattapoisett is on May 17, and voters will get to make their choice between the two candidates.

Jordan Collyer

Collyer has served the town on the select board for 18 years, and with many projects in the pipeline that he’s involved in, he says that he hopes to stay on the board to help complete them. “That’s the nature of the beast,” he said, “the longer you stay on, the more you become ingrained in these projects and want to see them through.”

He added that he’s not running because he feels compelled but because “I truly enjoy it.’’

Among the projects that Collyer is working on, he mentioned the Bike Path, the Main Street Connector Project, and figuring out what to do with Town Hall, which needs maintenance, the board has said.

Collyer also mentioned that there’s a “fairly new slate of staff” in Mattapoisett after a period of turnover.

“I’m transferring institutional knowledge,” he explained. “I don’t want to walk away and regret not staying to make sure that the transition is good with the people I’m working with.”

Collyer has lived in Mattapoisett all 42 years of his life. When he’s not occupied with the Select Board, he works as an account engineering manager for an insurance company that deals with loss prevention.

Collyer stated that he was first inspired to run for the Select Board as a senior in college after talking to his family, friends, and community members. “I learned that the town was becoming very unaffordable and I wanted to make sure we were putting resources in the right place and maintaining fiscal balance.”

He was elected in 2004, and immediately got to work on balancing the town’s finances with the town administrator at the time Mike Botelho and the chair of the board Steve Lombard. During the financial downturn in 2008, they were in a “good spot” and “didn’t have to lay anyone off.”

Over time, Collyer noted that he has learned that every decision he makes won’t always be popular, but his main interest is doing what is best for the town. “I take into account a lot of facts, details, and data,” he said. “I have a strong connection to the town and a strong connection with employees.”

Donald LaMarr

While a new face to municipal government, LaMarr has lived in Mattapoisett for the past 25 years.

LaMarr, who is 67, worked for the Bristol County Sheriff’s Department as a Deputy Sheriff for Homeland Security, but he retired a year and a half ago to take care of his ailing mother. When she passed away, he said that he decided it was time for a change of pace.

“It’s time for me to give back a little bit,” said LaMarr. “This is a town I really love, and I figured it was time for a change in office. My opponent has been there a while.”

While LaMarr was with the Bristol County Sheriff's Department, he assisted in the town and did law enforcement training with Mattapoisett officers at the Plymouth Police Academy.

LaMarr also spoke of how he went to Ground Zero during 9/11 and spent five days protecting federal buildings. This was close to home for LaMarr, who is from Minneola on Long Island originally.

If elected, LaMarr’s described caring for the elderly as his top concern. “I want to see that the golden generation are treated better,” he said. “With the cost of living going up, the seniors are being pushed out, and I want to see them more respected.”

Since retirement, LaMarr has devoted his free time to “doing the stuff he’s always wanted.” Including running for Select Board, he also finds the time to build cars, which he says is his passion. Recently he’s been working on two Factory Five AC Cobra sports cars.

“If people are looking for a change, a fresh face, new ideas, that’s me,” he said. “I just think it’s time for a change.” LaMarr added that if he doesn’t win this year, he plans to try again, because he really believes in having new faces on the board every once in a while.

“We need your vote,” he added. “Whether it’s for me, or any of the other positions that are running, take your time and get out and vote.”