After six years as chair of the Devens Jurisdiction Framework Committee, Victor Normand is stepping down, following a unanimous vote at the committee’s Sept. 10 meeting to rotate the chair among the three towns and elect Jannice Livingston, chair of the Ayer Select Board, to succeed him.
The change was initiated by John Katter, the Devens representative, who said some residents had felt it was time for a change. Normand told the Press that Katter had called him and Livingston before the meeting to pitch the idea and place it on the agenda. Normand said he told Livingston and Bryan Sawyer, Shirley’s town administrator, that he was willing to continue, but if another town wanted the job he was willing to step aside. “I have no claim to that position,” he said.
In a phone interview, Katter praised Normand’s leadership. “He has proven to be a good steward. He’s proven to be knowledgeable, and he has done an admirable job. … Not many people would step up to do what he did.”
Normand said that stepping away from the chair position was “a relief.” “Putting the meeting together every month is hard work, but the real challenge is looking ahead and trying to move the committee along.”
When you’re chair, he said, “you really have to be balanced and inclusive and more or less objective.” He said he thought Livingston would continue that tradition. “But now it’s clear that I’m sitting there representing Harvard and Harvard’s interests. It’s a change in perspective. I’m looking forward to it.”
On the agenda for the committee’s October meeting: term limits.
