Petition in the works to challenge Select Board expansion

MATTAPOISETT — A petition is now in the works to maintain a three person Mattapoisett Select Board, after voters approved expanding the board to five members at the Annual Town Meeting.

Paul Criscuolo, who started the petition as a private citizen, said he isn’t intending to present an argument that the original citizen’s petition was handled incorrectly at Town Meeting, noting that “nothing was done improperly” and that the article passed by a majority, though he added he was surprised there hadn’t been a hand count.

Criscuolo’s petition comes after Select Board members voted on Tuesday, June 10 to move the expansion request to state officials to continue the process voters started at Town Meeting.

He said he started the petition after speaking with some friends and noticing that “many people” were upset and surprised by Town Meeting’s outcome.

On Thursday, July 17, Criscuolo, who is the chair of the Mattapoisett Republican Town Committee, spoke as a private citizen at a committee meeting to explain why he created the petition.

Attendees discussed the move to undo expansion of the Mattapoisett Select Board, but the committee didn’t take a position on the matter.

Criscuolo noted at the meeting that the town is currently well-run with “extremely strong executive management.” He questioned why the set-up needed to change and whether there would be any efficiency gain.

Other arguments Criscuolo posed for why a three-member Board is preferable include there being “no evidence of dysfunction,” that it prevents factionalism and that it would be a lower cost to taxpayers.

He said the arguments presented during Town Meeting were “nice ideas” but questioned how likely it would be for them to occur, such as the idea that having more people on the board would increase diversity.

At Town Meeting, Nicki Demakis, who created the original citizens petition to expand the board, stated a larger board could “leverage more perspectives and skills, enhancing the depth and breadth of decision making.”

Demakis’ other arguments for expansion included increased collaboration between members, improved workflow and avoiding potential conflicts that could arise with a three-member board.

However, during the July 17 meeting, Criscuolo also questioned whether a larger board would create more scheduling difficulties rather than increase availability.

As part of the petition, Criscuolo and other proponents are looking to hold the Special Town Meeting on a Saturday in the hopes that more people will turn-out and are looking for there to be a private ballot rather than a hand count.

The petition can move forward if it receives either 200 signatures or 20 percent of voters, whichever is smaller, according to the state’s Citizen’s Guide to Town Meetings.

Criscuolo said that for the petition to pass, more people needed to get involved and volunteer to help. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a reason to proceed.

He noted he didn’t create the petition just because he could but with the “purpose of winning.”