Marshfield Select Board to Discuss Chief Philip Tavares' Character

A vote on board reorganization to follow, Select Board must decide whether current chair Eric Kelley asks too many questions or whether to return to their previous rubber stamp mode.

June 28, 2025 (Marshfield) — The Marshfield Select Board is scheduled to go into executive session on Monday, June 30 to discuss the reputation, character, physical condition or mental health of Police Chief Philip Tavares.

In a June 25 letter to the police chief, copied above, Interim Town Administrator Peter Morin invited Tavares to the meeting and said that he may bring counsel with him.

The last time the board met to discuss a town official’s character, the former town administrator Michael Maresco resigned.

The agenda does not make clear why exactly the executive session called, but a recent phone call Tavares made to a local resident about a media issue may have been inappropriate.

After the board comes back into session, the next item on the agenda is a reorganization of the board, as requested by Vice Chair Stephen Darcy at the last Select Board meeting on June 16.

Darcy apparently believes that Eric Kelley, the current chair should be replaced because meetings take too long,

We're having twice as many meetings. They're far less productive. We've had two meetings in a row that have gone absolutely off the rails. We're fighting with other boards and departments in town. We're not working cohesively together as a team, and we're just not getting business done as efficiently as we should be.

Kelley was elected to the board in 2024 and is part of a group of Marshfield residents who want to reform town government to make it more open and accountable. He has said that he asks a lot of questions because he wants to make sure everything gets done right, even if he takes heat for it.

His questions have not always been received kindly, however.

At a December 30, 2024 meeting, the former chair of the Select Board Lynne Fidler called a recess to prevent Kelley from asking questions about the costs of the South Shore Regional Vocational Technical School.

At that same meeting, Darcy castigated residents for cheering at Town Meeting, saying that they set a bad example for the Boy Scouts.

After Kelley became chair, the meetings became longer for a couple of reasons.

First, Kelley wants to discuss issues in public instead of deciding everything behind closed doors, in advance.

Reformers have worked for years to achieve just that kind of political openness in Marshfield, but the adjustment to the change has not gone smoothly.

Residents haven’t liked their plans being questioned, and one Marshfield town employee apparently believes that he does not have to show up at Select Board meetings when asked.

A recent discussion of playgrounds ended in screaming because Kelley wanted to make sure that new playground materials were suitable for children.

At that same meeting Andrew Stewart, the Marshfield building commissioner, said that he had only appeared at the Select Board as a courtesy.

This really isn't your issue, you know. This is something that the DPW’s… The DPW is required to maintain the the grounds for for the town, and they have gotten the funds to do that so it's their issue to do that. So I'm here as a courtesy… I’m here as a courtesy tonight because I care about the kids in this town, all right... We are here as a courtesy tonight to help explain this to you because you called this meeting all right. We're working every day during the day to get this accomplished.

Kelley told him that it was a Select Board issue.

A second cause for the prolonged meetings is that Kelley insists on reading all documents, including licenses, out loud when he could instead post them on the town’s website.

Darcy was also angry that Kelley took a proclamation about Gay Pride Month off the agenda for the June 16 meeting.

Kelley opposes all proclamations on principle because he wants the board to avoid taking positions on controversial or political matters. If the Select Board doesn’t have to vote on these matters, no one ends up in an awkward position of having to embarrass anyone or hurt anyone’s feelings by voting against the matter. At the same time, members are not embarrassed into voting for something they do not support.

As a result of this policy, Kelley has even voted against veterans-related proclamations.

It’s not clear who would become chair if the board were to be re-organized. Darcy was recently arrested for drunk driving in Duxbury. He has pleaded not guilty and is currently in legal proceedings in the Plymouth District Court. Trish Simpson was only recently elected to the board.

A vote for a proclamation of Pride Month immediately follows the reorganization vote.

Later in the meeting, there are six licenses up for discussion. Depending on the board vote on reorganization and Kelley’s potential reconsideration of past practices, attendees may or may not be treated to a reading aloud of all of the licenses.

Tavares could not be reached for comment.