Help wanted: Duxbury scrambles to appoint town officials

March 27, 2026  |  By Sarah Andrews  |  Correspondent

Following Town Meeting Day, Duxbury’s Selectboard has been tasked with filling numerous roles across the town government, including a vacant seat on the selectboard itself. 

In some cases, such as the selectboard opening, the positions are elected roles for which no candidates came forward for the March election. Other offices are appointments that the board makes regularly. 

At their first meeting after town meeting, the selectboard elected officers for the coming year. Patrick Zachary will continue to serve as chair and Mari Pratt as vice chair; Gwenna Peters will serve as secretary. 

Also at the March 9 meeting, the board unanimously confirmed four individuals to continue serving in their previous roles as town officials: Kyle Guyette as  Fire Warden, Ian Stewart as Emergency Management Officer, Andrea McMahan as Animal Control Officer, and Mark Morse as the Waterbury Ambulance Representative.

Ahead of this year’s town meeting, four positions on the selectboard were up for election: the one-year seats, which are always on the ballot, two years on an unexpired three-year term filled by appointment in 2025, and the three-year seat previously held by Jamison Ervin, who decided not to seek re-election this year. 

Pratt and Matt Schroeder won the one-year seats. Peters was elected to the two-year term to serve until 2028, and no candidates emerged to fill the open three-year position. That now leaves the current board to appoint someone to hold that seat until March 2027. 

The board asked that interested applicants for the vacant selectboard seat attend the March 23 meeting, but no contenders came forward. The seat now will remain empty until an applicant expresses interest or the board can recruit someone.

In addition to the vacant selectboard seat, the board needs to fill multiple spots across the town government, including seats on the Development Review Board and the Planning Commission, as well as two Budget Committee positions that are open after no one ran for election to those positions recently. Additionally, the town needed to appoint an E-911 coordinator and a representative to the Central Vermont Solid Waste District.

At the March 23 meeting, the board appointed David Specht to take on the E-911 position. Specht currently is the town’s Zoning Administrator. To the planning commission, the board confirmed Jennifer Hughes, whose previous three-year term on the commission was ending this year. The board also confirmed Eric Potter to serve as the Tree Warden.

The board is still struggling to find applicants to fill two vacant seats on the Budget Committee, a body that is mainly elected, with one seat held by a selectboard member. 

Zachary proposed disbanding the Budget Committee and said he would seek advice from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns on how that would be done. In the coming weeks, the board will review the steps to decide whether to make that change. 

After this initial wave of appointments, the board is still looking for interested applicants to serve on the Development Review Board and as the town’s representative to the solid waste district. Zachary said he would reach out to Will Senning, the town moderator, to gauge his interest in the vacant seat on the Development Review Board. 

Individuals interested in the selectboard seat or the other remaining open positions are encouraged to contact Zachary or a selectboard member for more information. The board’s next meeting is Monday, April 13, at 6:30 p.m.