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IPSWICH — The search for the next town manager narrowed to three candidates on Monday as the Select Board unveiled its finalists after weeks of screening and interviews.
The candidates — all of whom currently serve as town managers or assistant town administrators in nearby communities — are Steve Bartha (Lexington), Angus Jennings (West Newbury), and Brendan Sweeney (Boxford).
“The town manager is a very important role in this community, and it is our duty as a Select Board to make sure that we find the person that is the right fit for this position,” said Selectperson Michael Dougherty, who sits on the board’s two-person screening committee alongside Carl Nylen.
Dougherty said he and Nylen questioned the 11 semi-finalists on a range of topics that included how they would view their relationship with the Select Board and taxpayers, how they would balance economic development with the town’s historic character, and their experience working in coastal communities.
“We got a good and competitive collection of candidates with lots of different skills and experiences,” Nylen said. “It’s always tough when it comes down to a short list of candidates like this.”
Residents should have plenty of opportunities to meet the three finalists in the coming weeks, as the board plans to invite each of them for full-day tours of Ipswich that will include community meet-and-greets. Formal interviews with the Select Board will follow.
The board’s stated goal is to extend an offer to a preferred candidate by the end of March. Nylen noted that the search process is currently a week ahead of schedule.
Steve Bartha
Bartha has been the Lexington town manager and CEO since 2024. Prior to that he served as the Danvers town manager for a decade.
His previous roles include four-and-a-half years as assistant town manager in Avon, Connecticut, as well as work as a budget analyst and a secondary English teacher, according to his LinkedIn profile.
In an interview with LexMedia around the time he was hired as Lexington’s town manager, Bartha praised the community for being “dedicated to democracy and civic engagement.”
He also has experience working with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). Bartha served on the Lexington School Building Committee when the MSBA approved a $118.7 million reimbursement for the town’s $660 million high school building project late last year.
“The MSBA process is very prescribed,” Bartha said in the LexMedia interview. “My role is more facilitating and keeping people together and making sure that we’re staying in compliance with the process — and checking in with stakeholders to make sure we’re on the right track.”
Angus Jennings
Jennings has been West Newbury’s town manager and finance director for nearly eight years. Before that, he was town manager in Hampden, Maine for three years.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Jennings has held several planning roles since 1998, including nearly four years as Marshfield’s planning director and three years as Westford’s land use management director.
Jennings was the United Independent Party candidate for lieutenant governor in 2014, running alongside Evan Falchuk. The ticket lost to Charlie Baker and Karyn Polito by just under 1 million votes, according to Ballotpedia.org.
He currently serves as chair of the Whittier Tech Regional Agreement Amendment Committee, which is working to revise the school’s financial agreement for its 11 member communities, including Ipswich and Rowley.
On LinkedIn, Jennings describes himself as a “creative professional with exceptional work ethic and recognized expertise in public and private sector planning and management.”
Brendan Sweeney
An Ipswich High School graduate, Sweeney has served as Boxford’s assistant town administrator and finance director for nearly four years.
He previously worked as assistant to the Reading town manager before moving on to the State House, where he spent nearly four years in the Executive Office for Administration and Finance, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Sweeney was elected to the Beverly City Council in 2022. He ran for mayor last year, losing to 12-year incumbent Mike Cahill by a vote of 6,228 to 4,292, according to The Salem News.
In an interview with Patch.com ahead of the election, Sweeney said he would be “action-oriented, accessible, and accountable” if elected.
On LinkedIn, Sweeney highlights his “expertise in financial planning, budgeting, and capital project management, with experience overseeing complex operations.”
