Town Government
Hanover Select Board
About the Board
The Select Board is elected town-wide, so every Hanover voter helps choose all five, and the Town Manager Act gives each a three-year term on a staggered schedule that puts a seat or two on the ballot every May. Section 2 of that act vests the executive powers of the town in this board and calls it the chief policy making body. It appoints the Town Manager who runs the town day to day, it appoints Town Counsel, it is the town’s licensing board, and it signs the warrants that decide what Town Meeting gets to vote on. When a daily problem becomes town policy, this is the room where it happens.
- Sets policy and direction for the whole town, through broad guidelines rather than day-to-day administration.
- Hires the Town Manager and can remove or suspend him by a majority vote of the entire board.
- Controls the warrant, deciding what business reaches Town Meeting for a vote.
Board Members
All five members are elected town-wide. After each annual town election the board reorganizes and chooses its own officers. At the reorganization of May 18, 2026, two days after the election, the board first took up a standing policy from April 2015 that discouraged a member from chairing during a third-year election cycle, decided to set it aside, and then voted 4 to 0, with newly elected member Jim Hoyes abstaining, to elect former Vice Chair Greg Satterwhite as Chair. Rachel Hughes was elected Vice Chair and Vanessa O’Connor Clerk.
Greg Satterwhite
Rachel Hughes
Vanessa O’Connor
Steve Louko
James Hoyes
The town routes contact to board members through the Select Board office, which can be reached at 781-826-5000, ext. 1084. The member roster and each member’s term expiration are posted at hanover-ma.gov.
Meetings & How to Participate
- When: most Monday evenings at Hanover Town Hall, 550 Hanover Street. The town posts each agenda in advance.
- Agendas & minutes: posted on the town’s own meetings page at hanover-ma.gov, alongside every board’s calendar.
- Watch: meetings are carried by Hanover Community Television on Comcast channel 8 and Verizon channel 36, and streamed and archived online.
- Public comment: residents may address the board. Check the agenda for the procedure.
- Town Meeting: for the budget and bylaws, the deciding vote belongs to the registered voters in the hall, which can include you.
Public hearings and meetings are where residents shape town decisions.