WESTFORD — During the Westford Select Board meeting on Feb. 10, board member and clerk John Cunningham announced that he will resign his position on May 4.
“We acknowledge the receipt of the resignation of John Cunningham,” Select Board Chair Tom Clay said. “John, thank you for your service, and all the chapters of service you’ve had for our country and our town. We are so grateful to have had you here and thank you for staying with us until May, your work is much appreciated.”
Cunningham was first elected to the Select Board on May 4, 2021, defeating Eric Barber-Mingo with 1,134 votes to 919. He then ran for re-election to a second term on May 7, 2024, defeating Meghan O’Connell with 3,545 votes to 2,698.
Before joining the Select Board, Cunningham served on other town committees, including the Finance Committee and Conservation Commission. He also served 27 years as a colonel in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War.
Cunningham’s resignation will take place just a day before the annual town election on May 5.
This means that the final year of Cunningham’s three year term will need to be filled with a new candidate by the time of the town election, requiring a vote of approval from the Select Board beforehand, in order to place the vacant position on the ballot.
An approval vote will open up a one year term vacancy for a position on the Select Board in place of Cunningham’s final year of his term. The deadline for filing nomination papers with signatures of at least 50 Westford voters is March 17 at 5 p.m.
“Just to be clear, right now, (board members) Tom (Clay) and Chris (Barrett) are up for reelection for a three year term, then there is going to be a one year term left by John’s (Cunningham) seat,” Town Manager Kristen Las said. “Those papers will be pulled separately. So someone could pull papers for the one year term, or someone could pull papers for the three year term seats.”
If nomination papers are not submitted by March 17, or candidates are unable to get 50 signatures, Las said the other option to fill the vacant position would be to file a citizen’s petition with 200 hundred registered voters to call for a special election after the May 5 vote . Otherwise, the position will remain vacant for the rest of the year.
Following the announcement of Cunningham’s resignation, the Select Board approved the acknowledgment of his resignation and the filling of vacancy at the town election with a unanimous 5-0 vote.
