The Select Board unanimously appointed Nicholas Connors as the new Swampscott town administrator Wednesday night. Select Board Member David Grishman was not present.
“I am excited,” Connors said. “I’m excited to join the team and to begin executing on the policies and priorities and objectives that you all have.”
The Select Board had voted in executive session for the contract and then voted Wednesday in public session, per the consultant and charter’s guidelines. Connors was one of the three finalists that the Select Board interviewed for the new position. He went onto the second round of interviews with Jason Silva. Connors, 46, currently serves as Milton’s assistant town administrator. He will begin his contract with Swampscott on October 6.
The search for a new town administrator began after former Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald resigned in late 2024. Although Fitzgerald’s contract was set to expire in June, he agreed to take a paid leave of absence in the final months of his tenure. Department of Public Works Director Gino Cresta has been filling in as interim town administrator since.
The Select Board had previously voted to name Silva as their top choice for Swampscott’s next town administrator.
“The last that the public was aware, we took a vote…to move forward with two candidates in an order, first with Jason Silva and then with Nick Connors,” Select Board Vice Chair Doug Thompson said in the meeting Wednesday. “We went to executive session and proceeded through negotiations in that order. For some folks, there was an assumption that that would lead to an agreement with Jason Silva, but it did not. There are, as you can imagine, many factors that come into that discussion, but we were not able to come to an agreement, so we happily moved on to our second candidate.”
Select Board Chair Katie Phelan added that the Town Administrator Search Committee had presented the Select Board with three candidates they were confident could fill the role.
“I’m very proud of the board and how we came together during this process,” Phelan said.
During both of Connors’ interviews, he recalled his time in Swampscott as a child, particularly during his time in high school at Bishop Fenwick where he ran on the cross country team.
“We had an end-of-summer road race that started near Monument Avenue and went down Humphrey Street,” Connors said. “I grew up in Stoneham and when I went to Bishop Fenwick I connected with a lot of folks, and, very broadly, Swampscott became a place that was important to my family both when I lived in Stoneham and in Lynnfield. At places like Red Rock and now Mission of the Bay, it’s a place where we’ve chosen to commemorate important events just because we love the community so much.”
He added that the opportunity to serve as Swampscott’s town administrator would bring his story full circle.
“This is an opportunity for great professional development and the next step in my career, and an opportunity to join a team and come to a community where I’ve felt a connection for a long time and which has felt like a special place to me going back 30 years,” Connors said.
Connors also explained that the opportunity to become town administrator in Swampscott is “a really unique one.” Connors went on to say that he has not just applied to positions because they are a town administrator role. Instead, he said Swampscott provides unique, “generational opportunities” and that his background in public engagement and communication would help in the role.
Select Board Member Danielle Leonard had originally leaned toward Connors’ appointment.
“I was pretty impressed with Mr. Connors’ due diligence with the town of Swampscott and really digging into what’s going on here right now, what our priorities are, what our pressing issues are and really taking the time to understand where we’re at,” Leonard said, adding that she also spoke with references in Lynnfield for Connors and Marblehead for Silva. “I feel like Mr. Connors is very eager to become a TA.”
Phelan called Connors’ style “fresh.” She said that Connors may be stronger in communication, which town residents prioritize.
The rest of the Select Board also agreed after the interviews that both candidates were “great choices.” Select Board Member Mary Ellen Fletcher acknowledged after the board’s first round interviews that Connors is “engaging and fun.”
Now a Lynnfield resident, Connors serves on that town’s Finance Committee. Prior to his role in Milton, he worked at the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, where he held various leadership positions, including director of external affairs and partnerships, deputy commissioner for public affairs, policy, and administration, and director of the Green Communities Program.
