Unauthorized Advertisement Posted for New Marshfield Town Administrator Position
Ad expands town administrator's role in Marshfield government and dilutes the powers of the Select Board
May 11, 2026 (Marshfield) — Rick Smith’s first meeting as a Select Board member came with an interesting surprise.
Embattled board member Eric Kelley happily turned over the chair to his new colleague and voted to schedule a July 25 special election to fill the empty board seat.
Smith also learned that someone posted an unauthorized new advertisement for a permanent town administrator on the Massachusetts Municipal Association’s website.
The ad says that the new town administrator will have to deal with “political instability and questions of trust and fairness in both government and the community.” It also says that the new leader should be able to “foster a positive, collaborative work culture” and emphasize “open communication” and “fairness”.
“As of right now,” said Kelley, “as far as I could tell, when I was informed of it, it was not authorized by the Select Board. There is another description on the MMA website looking for town administrators that I don’t ever recall approving to be on that website for that description. And currently, people are sending in town administrator applicants as we speak right now. And we never approved it. My opinion right now seems to be that there’s some kind of dysfunction in regards to who’s responsible for doing what in this situation.”
According to the town charter, the Select Board appoints the town administrator.