Shrewsbury 'Select Board' Name Change Approved By State

SHREWSBURY, MA — The reign of the Shrewsbury Board of Selectmen is over. Now the Shrewsbury Select Board takes over.

The state Legislature and Gov. Charlie Baker last week both signed off on the town removing the gender-specific "men" from the name of the governing council. Most towns in Massachusetts have made similar moves in recent years.

"I am so pleased to see this legislation passed as the terminology is much more representative of the fact that both men and women have served and continue to serve in elected capacity on the Shrewsbury Select Board," state Rep. Hannah Kane, R-Shrewsbury, said in a news release.

Town Meeting in May asked state lawmakers to make the Select Board change, and the Select Board (which was then known as the Board of Selectmen) filed the petition with lawmakers at the end of June.

Kane and state Sen. Michael Moore, D-Worcester, sponsored legislation to make the change. Baker signed the law on Sept. 15.