Town Leadership
The New Ashford Select Board’s Office
Three Executives, All of Them Elected
The Select Board as Executive
When a road goes unplowed in New Ashford, the response does not cross an administrator’s desk, because the town does not employ one. The three elected members of the Select Board, Jason Jayko, Ken McInerney, and Mark Phelps, run the town themselves. The Town Bylaws and the General Laws of Massachusetts grant the board broad powers to govern the town: it acts as the primary policy-making body, appoints the town’s boards and committees, recommends the budget to the Annual Town Meeting, and serves as the town’s licensing authority. It even runs the town’s own electricity: New Ashford operates a Municipal Light Plant for broadband, and board member Ken McInerney manages it. Most Massachusetts towns of this shape hire a professional Town Administrator to carry the daily machinery; New Ashford keeps that machinery in the hands of the people it elects. That changes what an election here means: when you vote for a Select Board member, you are not choosing someone to supervise a manager, you are choosing a working executive. The person who answers for the plowing schedule and the town budget sits at a public table at Town Hall, and the seat across from them is open to any resident who walks in.
| Role | Select Board, the town’s executive and licensing authority |
|---|---|
| Selection | Three members elected town-wide to staggered terms |
| Office | New Ashford Town Hall, 188 Mallery Road, New Ashford, MA 01237 |
| Phone | 413-458-5461 |
| Website | newashford-ma.us |
What the Select Board’s Office Does
- Sets policy. The board acts as the town’s primary policy-making body on the whole range of issues that affect New Ashford’s development and services.
- Builds the warrant. The board decides what reaches Town Meeting, signing the warrant for every Annual and Special Town Meeting.
- Recommends the budget. The board recommends the annual budget to the Annual Town Meeting, alongside the Finance Committee’s review, and Town Meeting holds the final vote.
- Licenses. As in every Massachusetts town, the Select Board is the local licensing authority, granting the alcohol, common victualler, and one day permits that let a business open its doors.
- Answers to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of Town Meeting, and in New Ashford that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- The office staff: New Ashford employs no administrator or manager. The board’s paperwork runs through the town’s own staff at Town Hall, including the Town Clerk, Susan Supranowicz, and the town Secretary and Treasurer, Lori Jayko.
- Elected offices carry much of the work. New Ashford’s voters fill a long ballot of working offices themselves, among them the Assessor, Board of Health, Planning Board, Road Commissioner, Tree Warden, and School Committee, so the executive branch here is a web of ballots, not one org chart.
- Boards and commissions, permanent and ad hoc, are appointed by the Select Board and decide questions like zoning, conservation, and historic preservation.
Contact & Engage
- Town offices: New Ashford Town Hall, 188 Mallery Road, reachable at 413-458-5461.
- Select Board chair: Jason Jayko, jasonjayko@newashford-ma.us.
- Report a problem: potholes, washed-out shoulders, and plowing go to Road Commissioner Keith LaCasse at 413-212-2639.
- Show up: the board meets at Town Hall, 188 Mallery Road, roughly twice a month, and the public is welcome.
Want to weigh in on a town decision? Learn how to contact your officials so they actually hear you.