Select Board members quickly reshuffled their roles as they welcomed new members Don Ludwig and Charles Oliver, who replaced retired members Stu Sklar and Alice von Loesecke. Ludwig and Oliver, both former members of the Finance Committee, were elected to their three-year terms in an uncontested election May 17 in which only 6% of Harvard’s electorate cast votes.
In short order Tuesday, board positions were filled, each by unanimous vote. Vice-chair Rich Maoire was elected chair, Erin McBee vice-chair, and Don Ludwig clerk. Ludwig was the only member who volunteered for a position, nominating himself for clerk. The clerk, explained the Select Board’s administrative assistant Julie Doucet, is primarily responsible for signing official documents.
At their final meeting as Select Board members last month, Sklar and von Loesecke thanked their fellow members, the public, and the staff at Town Hall, singling out Tim Bragan, Marie Sobalvarro, and Julie Doucet for recognition. “Julie earns her nickname of ‘Radar,’” Sklar quipped.
Citing his six-year involvement with the Ayer Road renovation project, Sklar said he intends to assist the board in any way he can, and cited Devens as another area he’d like to remain involved with. “What Harvard looks like in the next 50 years depends on what we do with Devens in the next 10 years,” he said. Von Loesecke commended the board on dealing gracefully with contentious issues. “We did not shred each other,” she said, smiling.
