Selectmen Celebrate Michael McCoy's Final Meeting After 30 Years

WILMINGTON, MA — Outgoing Wilmington Selectman Michael McCoy was celebrated at Monday's meeting, his final after 30 years on the Board.

McCoy had the town's longest-ever tenure on the Board — slightly lengthened by the coronavirus delay to this year's annual town election.

Current and former selectmen thanked McCoy for his time on the Board, and WCTV put together a video celebrating his time.

"I sit here tonight at my last meeting with mixed emotions because it’s been a great ride, and an interesting journey," McCoy said. "I’ve always enjoyed helping people because I’ve always been in the people business, as a selectman and the owner of a very busy restaurant."

The remainder of McCoy's statement is below.

During my 30 years and two months tenure as selectman, every single vote I made, was made with the intention of doing what was best for our town and the residents who live here. At the end of each election when I was running for office, when the votes were tallied and the winners were officially announced, at the Town Hall I thanked the residents who voted for me and the residents who didn’t vote for me because I wanted to be their selectman too.

As your selectman, I’ve served with three town managers, four different town counsels, and to the best of my recollection I’ve sat on the board with 24 different selectmen. I believe as selectman, we should be in the people business and not just cater to the few elite in the community. Many of you who know me know that I am 100% pro-resident and keeping our community a nice place to live. I believe we should keep Wilmington, Wilmington. Many people who live here moved away from a big city with the intention of raising their families in a smaller town and the long-term residents want the same. I assure you I gave it my all to keep the small-town feel.

Throughout the years and dealing with various issues in town, I was blessed to have made a lot of friends along the way and I also made some enemies with those who did not agree with my vision. I’m actually very proud of those enemies because in the words of the great Winston Churchill “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something some time in your life.”

As a public figure, people don’t realize that it’s necessary to perform a balancing act between town business, constituent needs, running a busy restaurant and family. I was a selectman before I got married and became a dad. Being involved in politics doesn’t require the attention of just one person in the household—it involves everyone. From the bottom of my heart I want to thank my family and I especially want to thank my wife Danielle for her undying support and belief in me. My wife was my sounding board, my voice of reason, my campaign manager, my secretary and so much more.

At my departure tonight, I want residents to remember me as the selectman who listened and more importantly, the selectman who cared about the town of Wilmington and the people who live here.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.