Bellingham Select Board Orders Background Checks on Two Town Administrator Finalists

BELLINGHAM — November 19, 2024 — Bellingham Select Board moves toward hiring a new Town Administrator after interviewing two finalists. The board questioned John Cordeiro, a former Northborough Town Administrator with 25 years of experience who cited 14 consecutive unanimous town meeting budgets and a $10.4 million MSBA school grant, and Joe Powers, the current Harwich Town Administrator, who has overseen eight consecutive successful town meetings in five and a half years. After debating whether to seek two additional candidates to reach an original goal of four interviews — a motion that failed 2-3 — the board voted 4-1 to authorize thorough background checks on both finalists, going beyond social media screening to include direct outreach to colleagues not on the candidates' reference lists, with an offer to follow pending results. The position is being vacated by Dennis Fraine, who has served as Town Administrator for more than 30 years.