Donna McNamara Named Permanent Stoughton Police Chief

STOUGHTON, MA — There will be no finalists interviews for the Stoughton police chief liked planned. Instead, the job will likely go to the woman who is already on the job.

The selectmen voted 3-1 to appoint Acting Police Chief Donna McNamara to the position pending contract negotiations. Selectman Robert O'Reagan voted against the motion because he wanted to conduct interviews with three finalist. After the vote, O'Reagan added that he supported McNamara.

Selectmen Chairman David Souza moved to vote Monday night instead of holding interviews Tuesday night because he felt that an assessment center run by three police chiefs gave them all the answers they needed about the candidates.

"It was a difficult decision, I read the scores, I personally think they did enough time in their interviews. They could be a chief anywhere," Souza said. "To waste more time, it’s done, it’s over, everyone did a great job."

O'Reagan, who helped craft the search process with Selectman Peter Brown, wanted to stick to the plan of interviewing finalists.

"I think we owe it to the candidate to conduct interviews. Do you think interviewing the candidates and the board having independent contact is a waste of time?" O'Reagan asked Souza.

"I do Mr. O'Reagan. My mind is made up," Souza replied.

Selectman Robert Cohn said he reviewed the tapes 15 times and received answers to all his questions. In a heated response to the prospect of finalists interviews, Cohn said he was ready to move forward.

"The bottom line is we had five great candidates. It was one of the toughest tests they ever gave. All three chiefs said (the candidates) could be chiefs anywhere. It was great to hear good things out of the Stoughton Police Department. Some people were stronger in other areas. The bottom line is my questions are answered.

There were five candidates for the opening, with one dropping out before Monday's vote. The three other candidates for consideration were Lt. Robert Welsh, Lt. Michael Blount, and Lt. Dan McGowan. McNamara has been the town's interim chief for about 10 months. She was appointed to the position by Police Chief Paul Shastany shortly before his retirement.

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