Town Government
Scituate Select Board
About the Board
The Select Board is elected town-wide, so every Scituate voter helps choose all five, and each serves a three-year term on a staggered schedule that puts a couple of seats on the ballot each spring. The board sets town policy, holds the licensing authority, signs the warrants that decide what Town Meeting gets to vote on, appoints residents to many town boards, and hires and supervises the Town Administrator who runs the town day to day. When a daily problem becomes town policy, this is the room where it happens.
- Sets policy and direction for the whole town.
- Hires the Town Administrator and holds the Administrator accountable.
- Controls the warrant, deciding what business reaches Town Meeting for a vote.
- Grants the licenses. Liquor, entertainment, hawker and peddler permits and special event permits are all voted at these meetings, in public, one by one.
Board Members
All five members are elected town-wide. The board then chooses its own officers, and it did so on June 23, 2026, seventeen days after the Annual Town Election. Andrew Goodrich, who had been Chair, opened the nominations by naming Susan Harrison to replace him, and the vote was unanimous. Harrison nominated Clerk James M. Gilmore for Vice Chair, and Gilmore nominated Freya Schlegel for Clerk. All three votes were 5 to 0. That is what a reorganization looks like, and it happens in the open, in front of anyone who came.
Susan J. Harrison
James M. Gilmore
Freya Schlegel
Andrew W. Goodrich
Nico Afanasenko
The town routes contact to board members through the Select Board office, which can be reached at 781-545-8740. The current roster and terms are posted at scituatema.gov.
Meetings & How to Participate
- When: every other Tuesday at 6:30pm in the Select Board Hearing Room at Town Hall, 600 Chief Justice Cushing Highway. Additional meetings are called as needed.
- Agendas & minutes: posted in advance on the town website, with minutes approved at a later meeting and published in full.
- Watch: meetings are broadcast live on Comcast Channel 9 and posted to the town’s YouTube channel the following day.
- Public comment: the agenda opens with walk-ins, and 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.