Richard Howard chosen as Winchester's next Town Manager

The Winchester Board of Selectmen released the following information Friday morning:

The Winchester Board of Selectmen is very pleased to announce that at their posted public meeting last evening they unanimously voted to select Mr. Richard Howard of Malden as their next Town Manager, contingent upon successful contract negotiations and remaining due diligence.

Mr. Forrest Fontana, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen noted, “I have spoken to Richard and he is excited and energized about the opportunity to join our community as our next Town Manager.  Our town was privileged to have such highly qualified and talented final candidates to choose among.  Mr. Bisignani, Mr. Maylor and Mr. Younger are all true stewards for their peer towns, and epitomize all that is good about our public leaders.”

Fontana went on to add “we made sure that this was a two-way street.  Only through an authentic and comprehensive search process would we ensure the highest probability of success for our community.  I am very grateful and extremely proud of the efforts put forth by my fellow Selectmen and our town’s Search Advisory Committee.  They represent the true essence of volunteer public service.  During our search process we also wanted the finalists to get to know our community, its residents and employees, our Board and Senior Management team, and our values and priorities.  We recognized that this would be a critical personal and professional decision for the candidates as well.  Our town’s search and selection process will set a new benchmark by which other towns will measure themselves.  The conclusion of this thorough process is our choice of Mr. Richard Howard, and I can truly say that his selection is in the best interests of Winchester.”

Mr. Bob Joy, Chairman of the Town Manager Search Advisory Committee added, "the process followed to select Winchester's Town Manager has been open, thorough and deliberate. The Search Advisory Committee's intent was to serve the Board of Selectmen and the citizens of Winchester well. I would like to thank my colleagues on the Committee for the diligence and thoughtful approach which they brought to this task. We join the Board of Selectmen in wishing Mr. Richard Howard every success as Winchester's next Town Manager.”