Weymouth Council Rejects Board of Registrars Appointment Over Missing Resume

WEYMOUTH -- November 14, 2022, Weymouth Town Council voted 9-2 Monday to reject Mayor Robert Hedlund's appointment of Marie Stockel to the Board of Registrars, objecting to the process rather than the candidate. Vice President Joseph Malise, who chairs the Budget Management Committee, said the mayor's office submitted no resume or credentials with the nomination, a departure from what he called 20 years of consistent practice for board appointments. Stockel, present in the chamber, recited qualifications that included a Yale master's in public health, 25 years at the Rhode Island Department of Health, and five years as a Weymouth election officer, but the council voted for unfavorable action after determining a continuance was impossible under the charter's 30-day window. The council also referred a proposed commercial property tax rate shift of 1.46 for fiscal year 2023 and roughly $65,000 in charitable bequests from the estate of Sandra Cunningham to the Budget Management Committee, and approved a $9,175 reserve fund transfer to cover an unpaid fiscal year 2022 bill to Stone Consulting.