First Selectmen Recall Candidate Comes Forward

STOUGHTON, MA — The first candidate in the selectmen recall election has thrown his hat into the ring.

Stephen Cavey announced Monday that he will run for a seat on the board of selectmen. He currently serves as a town meeting member.

The announcement comes after Cavey took an active role in collecting petitions for the recall and discussions with friends and family about a possible run. Signatures calling for the recall of selectmen David Sousa, Robert Cohn, and Peter Brown were certified this week.

"I believe many of the problems our Town faces stem directly from the professional and ethical failures of these three. A great many of the citizens of our Town agree with me. I hope they will also agree with me that our Town deserves better than this because we are better than this. I've set down roots here because I wanted to. I want to live here. I want my son to grow up here. I've lived all over this country, and no place ever felt like home until I found Stoughton," Cavey wrote in his announcement.

Talk of a recall vote started with the ousting of Town Manager Michael Hartman. Supports of the recall say the appointment of an interim town manager was done without any public input and Hartman's removal was not done with a discharge vote from four selectmen, as required by the town charter. A Norfolk Superior Court judge recently ruled that the six-months notice was sufficient and the additional step of discharging Hartman with four votes by the selectmen was not necessary, despite being required by the town charter.

Since Hartman's departure, Town Accountant William Rowe was initially the interim town manager, but that title is now held by former Selectman Steve Anastos. In both cases, the interim town managers were appointed with 3-2 votes during highly contentious meetings that saw selectmen Michael Sullivan and Robert O'Reagan vote against the appointments.

The recall election can take place no earlier than 64 days since certification.

Image via Vote Stephen Cavey for Selectman Facebook page.