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Municipal votes · 2019–2020 Board

Plympton Board of Selectmen

How the Plympton Board of Selectmen voted, from the Board of Selectmen’s official minutes. 3 Select Board members elected townwide. Same three members. On May 20, 2019 the board chose Christine Joy as Chair, Mark Russo as Vice Chair and John A. Traynor, Jr. as Clerk (each 3-0). Covers 34 meetings, May 20 to June 17, 2020.

A monthly email on what it voted on, starting in November.

What does the Board of Selectmen do? It is the town’s executive board. It prepares the Town Meeting warrant (the list of articles voters decide), appoints members of many town boards, hires the town’s top staff, signs warrants to pay town bills, and grants licenses and permits.

Town Meeting, not the Board of Selectmen, votes the town budget and town bylaws.

Sources: Massachusetts Select Board Handbook (MMA) · Mass. Division of Local Services: the town budget
Election Day · Tuesday, Nov 3

Your Plympton ballot: 13 quizzes, about a minute each.

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Board years

Coming up

No upcoming meeting is posted yet. Check the official calendar →

Under the state Open Meeting Law, boards post notice at least 48 hours ahead, not counting weekends and legal holidays.

What Town Meeting decided

In Plympton, Town Meeting — not the Board of Selectmen — votes the town budget, bylaws and zoning. Here is what it did with each article, in the Town Clerk’s own words. Any registered voter can take part, and most votes are by voice or show of hands, so there is no list of who voted which way.

Annual Town Meeting · May 14, 2025 21 votes: 20 passed, 1 failed

Source: Town Clerk's minutes, May 14, 2025 Annual Town Meeting.

Special Town Meeting · May 14, 2025 4 votes: 2 passed, 1 no action, 1 other
  • Art. 1 Accept G.L. c.44 §54(b)-(d) so town trust funds can be invested under the prudent investor rule Passed “Pass majority”
  • Art. 2 Dedicate part of the 5 Palmer Road land to recreation and spend $42,000 CPA for fencing and ball field work Passed “Pass with a 2/3 Vote declared by Moderator”
  • Art. 3 Transfer $40,000 from the Rural Aid Grant account to the Special Education Reserve Fund (passed over) No action “Pass majority”
  • Art. 4 Add money to the FY2025 elementary school budget (motion to pass over) Other “Move to pass over”

Source: Town Clerk's minutes, May 14, 2025 Special Town Meeting.

Annual Town Meeting · May 15, 2024 43 votes: 43 passed

Source: Town Clerk's minutes, May 15, 2024 Annual Town Meeting.

Special Town Meeting · May 15, 2024 3 votes: 3 passed

Source: Town Clerk's minutes, May 15, 2024 Special Town Meeting.

Not here yet: the 2026 Annual Town Meeting (no minutes or warrant posted online yet).

Titles are short descriptions of each article from the official record; the quoted words are the Town Clerk’s. A vote at Town Meeting is not the final word on everything: some articles also need a ballot vote (such as a tax override) or the Attorney General’s approval (bylaws).

Members

John A. Traynor, Jr.Clerk · Elected townwide · at 34 of 34 meetings

"At X of Y meetings" counts the members the minutes list as present at the start of each meeting in this record. Members who step out are listed on each meeting page.

Meetings

About missing minutes

Loaded: every Board of Selectmen meeting with minutes on the town website from January 2018 through April 6, 2026 (2018 to 2024 from the town's Document Center, 2025 and 2026 from its Agenda Center). Not here: minutes before 2018 (the Document Center has them back to 2010), executive-session minutes, and minutes the town has not posted yet (every meeting after April 6, 2026, so nothing yet for the board chosen in May 2026). Some minutes are posted twice or in a revised version; we load each meeting once, using the revised version. One file posted as December 6, 2018 is really the May 6, 2019 minutes, and one posted as February 10, 2022 repeats the January 10, 2022 minutes. One 2025 minutes file does not open on the town site. Seven 2020 to 2024 files are scans, which we read by computer text recognition. Plympton's minutes are typed and usually name members by their initials ("CJ made a motion ... Seconded JT. Vote: 3/0"). We match initials to members only where, on that board, the initials fit exactly one member. When the minutes give a count equal to the number of members present with no one voting no, or say a vote was unanimous or "all in favor", we show every member present as voting yes; when they list how each member voted, by name or initials, or name the member who voted no, abstained or recused, we show each member's vote as recorded. When the minutes only say the board "voted", with no count, we show the result only and never assume it was unanimous. Where the minutes give only a count that does not match the members present (for example 2-1 with no names, or 3-0 with two members listed as present), or name a mover or seconder the minutes do not list as present, we show the count only and add a note. Members the minutes say had not yet arrived or had left are not counted in those votes. From September 26, 2025, when Mark Russo resigned, the board had two members. We will ask the town to confirm any noted vote.

Wednesday, June 17, 2020 · Regular meeting2 recorded votes, 0 with disagreementAll 3 members presentMonday, June 8, 2020 · Regular meeting7 recorded votes, 0 with disagreementAll 3 members presentMonday, June 1, 2020 · Regular meeting5 recorded votes, 0 with disagreementAll 3 members presentTuesday, May 26, 2020 · Regular meeting4 recorded votes, 0 with disagreementAll 3 members presentMonday, May 18, 2020 · Regular meeting11 recorded votes, 0 with disagreementAll 3 members present

Votes where members disagreed

Most board votes are unanimous. These are the ones where at least one member voted no or abstained, newest first.

Dec 16Approve the 2020 the Common Victualler's renewal for Just…Motion: To approve the 2020 the Common Victualler's renewal for Just Right…Passed 2–0 · Abstained: Russo

December 16, 2019: Approve the 2020 the Common Victualler's renewal for Just Right Farm

ApprovePassed · 2–0

To approve the 2020 the Common Victualler's renewal for Just Right Farm

Yes: Joy, TraynorAbstained: Russo

From the minutes

“CJ made motion to approve the 2020 the Common Victualler's renewal for Just Right Farm. Seconded JT. Vote: 2/0/1. MR abstained..” (Motion: Joy, second: Traynor)

Read it in the official minutes, page 2 (PDF)

Nov 18Appoint Chief Matthew Clancy as Deputy Emergency Management effective…Motion: To appoint Chief Matthew Clancy as Deputy Emergency Management effective immediatelyPassed 3–0 · see note

November 18, 2019: Appoint Chief Matthew Clancy as Deputy Emergency Management effective immediately

AppointPassed · 3–0

To appoint Chief Matthew Clancy as Deputy Emergency Management effective immediately

The minutes give only the count (3-0), not how each member voted. The count does not add up to the 2 members listed as present.

From the minutes

“CJ made motion to appoint Chief Matthew Clancy as Deputy Emergency Management effective immediately. Seconded JT. Vote: 3/0..” (Motion: Joy, second: Traynor)

Read it in the official minutes, page 2 (PDF)

Jul 8Allow the Council on Aging to use the Police…Motion: To allow the Council on Aging to use the Police conference…Passed Unanimous, 3 present · see note

July 8, 2019: Allow the Council on Aging to use the Police conference room on Wednesday, August 21st - 10:00 a.m. for Emergency Go Pack Preparations

ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 3 present

To allow the Council on Aging to use the Police conference room on Wednesday, August 21st - 10:00 a.m. for Emergency Go Pack Preparations

The minutes do not say who made the motion.

From the minutes

“Motion to allow the Council on Aging to use the Police conference room on Wednesday, August 21st - 10:00 a.m. for Emergency Go Pack Preparations, was made by MR and seconded by CJ. Vote 3-0.” (second: Joy)

Read it in the official minutes, page 1 (PDF)

Jun 17Appoint the members listed on the list provided by…Motion: To appoint the members listed on the list provided by BOS…Passed 2–0 · Abstained: Russo

June 17, 2019: Appoint the members listed on the list provided by BOS Assistant Briggette

AppointPassed · 2–0

To appoint the members listed on the list provided by BOS Assistant Briggette

Yes: Joy, TraynorAbstained: RussoThe vote is written "2/0/1 MR abstained from the appointments for Area58 Community Access TV."

From the minutes

“CJ made motion to appoint the members listed on the list provided by BOS Assistant Briggette, seconded JT. Vote: 2/0/1 MR abstained from the appointments for Area58 Commun.” (Motion: Joy, second: Traynor)

Read it in the official minutes, page 1 (PDF)

From the Plympton Board of Selectmen’s official minutes, posted in the town’s Agenda Center and Document Center. We check every vote against the members present and quote the exact wording. MassVoter never grades or scores officials. Photos: Dana Smith cropped from a captioned Plympton-Halifax-Kingston Express photo (June 2025); Nathaniel Sides and Daniel Cadogan from Area 58 video of the May 18 and June 29, 2026 Board of Selectmen meetings (identified by the nameplate in front of each member).

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