Select Board Vice Chair Doug Thompson hopes to use his role within the board to bring balance to its members and ensure that all community voices are represented.

Thompson, who grew up in Buffalo, New York, went to Boston University for college and then moved to California before returning to Massachusetts for graduate school at the Kennedy School at Harvard University. After living in Cambridge for about 20 years, he found “a beautiful place and a beautiful house” in Swampscott six years ago. 

Thompson’s career has largely focused on the health care industry. He currently serves as the chief executive officer of Element Care PACE, a program that focuses on providing comprehensive medical services to seniors. He has also held leadership roles at Network Health, Perfect Health and Cambridge Health Alliance.

With a graduate degree in public policy, Thompson said he’s long been interested in political engagement. After moving to Swampscott, he quickly got involved in climate initiatives, eventually helping to pass the town’s climate action plan.

He then ran for the State House in 2022, hoping to represent Swampscott, Marblehead and Lynn. Instead, in 2023, he was elected to Swampscott’s Select Board.

“I’m passionate about various issues like housing, climate and economic development,” Thompson said. “Whether it was state rep or Select Board, I felt like these are ways I could contribute and make a difference.”

Thompson said he’s proud of many accomplishments the Select Board has achieved together over the past two years. He spoke highly of the climate work, from the climate action plan to the ways that the school district is embracing geothermal, electric and solar options.

“A lot of the work that we’re doing is really changing over the systems and a lot of the town buildings,” Thompson said. 

He also raised concerns about rising sea levels and their potential impact on the Fish House.

Thompson also addressed the often “controversial” issue of affordable housing in town. Thompson said he wants to figure out a way to support the Housing Authority better. 

“I’m not sure that most people are necessarily opposed to affordable housing, but it’s where it ends up,” Thompson said, mentioning some heated debates with the Westcott’s development. “But the fact of the matter is that we need to get to 10% affordable housing. We’re way below that.”

Looking ahead, Thompson mentioned upcoming projects, such as securing affordable housing and a facility for veterans, figuring out what happens to the General John Glover land and the Hawthorne reuse project.

“I still think ultimately in that place we need to be balancing affordable housing in various places with economic development, and housing is economic development,” Thompson said. “I’ve been pretty clear all along that I think there needs to be a balance at the Hawthorne.”

He acknowledged that prior to his involvement, there was a promise – or at least the idea – of making the area entirely green space.

“Times are changing a little bit,” Thompson said. “The budget is incredibly tight, and everyone has seen that for the last couple of months in our budget process, and unless we can figure out a way for that to be almost or entirely green space and we get massive funding from somewhere else, I think we need a balance.”

Thompson said there will be a lot of different ideas for the Hawthorne space, but “you can imagine some fun restaurants, stores, but still a view of the ocean.”

“So you get some economic development and you get some tax revenue from that but you still have a lot of green space,” Thompson said. “It’s kind of almost like an Italian piazza.”

That idea of having balance is what Thompson said he has hoped to cultivate since joining the Select Board. 

“Everyone should have their own opinion, of course,” Thompson said. “I think that’s our job in the Select Board — to really try to kind of cool the passions in a way and find a middle ground. I said that publicly, I think we failed to do that about Pine Street. I think we were moving down a path, and we kind of truncated that process and didn’t allow ourselves to push ourselves to try to find a true compromise, so that’s really my passion.”

But when that comes down to personal attacks, Thompson said that “degrades our community.”

“If you want to be engaged in the public process, great,” Thompson said. “Do it professionally. Do it maturely. When people have to throw insults, call people names, social media crap, it doesn’t really help. It just turns people off. It doesn’t look good to the person who says it. It’s just not helpful.”

He acknowledged, however, that even Select Board members can get passionate about certain issues, while some “come with a (mindset of) ‘I’m going to push my agenda.’” And this can often put other Select Board members in a difficult position where if they call out a choice, it’s seen as criticizing but if a decision is ignored, it’s “kind of enabling it.”

“There’s been way too much meddling with town hall staff, and people feeling as though they can – especially with our interim town administrator – kind of get in there and try and manage things themselves,” Thompson said. “That’s not helpful. That’s not our job. We supervise the town administrator. That’s it.”

As vice chair, Thompson said that he and Chair Katie Phelan are “both seen as kind of moderating influences.”

“We’re very determined to try to get out of this cycle that we’ve been in,” Thompson said. “I think we’re determined to find a path forward.”