STEPHANIE JAROSZ
New Town Clerk
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The Select Board unanimously voted to appoint Danvers Assistant Town Clerk Stephanie Jarosz as Lynnfield’s next town clerk during an Aug. 11 meeting.
Jarosz will be succeeding former Town Clerk Amanda Haggstrom, who stepped down from her position in June after agreeing to become West Newbury’s new town clerk.
The Town Clerk Search Screening Committee interviewed five semifinalists for the position, and named Jarosz and City of Boston Public Records Director Shawn Williams as finalists.
The Select Board asked Jarosz and Williams a series of questions during separate interviews.
Select Board Chair Phil Crawford asked Jarosz why she wanted to serve as Lynnfield’s town clerk. He also asked her to discuss her strengths and past experience.
Jarosz said she graduated from UMass-Lowell in 2012, and she began her career working as an election clerk for the city of Lowell from January 2015 to December 2021. She began working as Dracut’s assistant town clerk in February 2022, and held that position through August 2022.
“Since then, I have been with the town of Danvers as the assistant town clerk,” said Jarosz. “I am also the assistant clerk to the Select Board. During my first interview, there was a great point made that not a lot of people wake up wanting to be a town clerk. I am one of those people. I feel that this position is a natural trajectory of my career.”
Select Board Vice Chair Alexis Leahy asked Jarosz to discuss her management style and her approach to customer service.
“I have a very lax management style and for customer service, I like to go above and beyond,” said Jarosz. “In a lot of places that I have worked, the town clerk’s office is the central location that everyone kind of filters to. If someone ends up in my department and they are not looking for services in my department, I try to get them to where they need to go. I will contact the department directly if I feel the question is easy enough. I always go above and beyond to do what I would want as a resident or customer coming in.”
Leahy asked Jarosz how she manages conflicts among co-workers and residents.
“With the public, I always try to be transparent,” said Jarosz. “I feel like that is the best approach. By being transparent, it stops problems from evolving further. I am also positive and energetic.”
Select Board member Dick Dalton asked Jarosz to discuss her past experience handling and tracking public records requests.
“That would be one of my main functions currently with the town of Danvers,” said Jarosz. “I am constantly looking into my Danvers public records inbox. We are getting them almost every day.”
Jarosz said she tracks public records requests, and makes sure they get to the correct department.
“I am also logging it,” added Jarosz. “We keep a log on Excel just to make sure we are keeping the 10-day timeframe.”
Crawford asked Jarosz about her past experience working and overseeing elections.
“I would say that is my strongest suit,” said Jarosz. “I have been through 25 elections, three presidential. All were successful. I have been through recounts and audits with the city of Lowell, which has a registered voter population of about 75,000. I have also experienced smaller communities such as the town of Dracut and the town of Danvers, which hover around 23,000 to 25,000.”
Jarosz said she became familiar with early voting rules and regulations when it was first introduced in 2016. She also became familiar with the vote-by-mail requirements when it first started in 2020.
Crawford asked Jarosz about her experience handling early voting requirements.
Jarosz said early voting takes “a lot of time.” She noted that early voting requirements in larger communities are “a lot bigger than the smaller communities.”
“I have adjusted to the kind of chaotic work schedule around elections,” said Jarosz.
Leahy asked Jarosz what type of training would she provide herself and her staff.
Jarosz said she is a member of the North Shore City Town Clerks’ Association, the Massachusetts Town Clerks Association and the New England Association of City and Town Clerks, which provide professional development opportunities for clerks, assistant clerks and support staff.
“I am definitely about furthering one’s self professionally,” said Jarosz. “And for election workers, it’s about where they are and what they are looking for. If I were to get this position, I would hold an election training to try and gauge where my wardens and clerks are and what they are looking for from me.”
Dalton asked Jarosz how would she “handle a person who comes to your office on the last day to register to vote before any Town Meeting or election, but is three minutes late.”
Jarosz said she would tell the resident they are “unfortunately” too late to register to vote. She also said that she would give the resident a voter registration form to make sure they are “all set going forward.”
“I think the only thing that you can do is address it going forward,” said Jarosz.
After the two interviews concluded, Crawford asked election worker/Town Clerk Search Screening Committee member Beverly Merritt to weigh in on the two different finalists.
Merritt said the search committee interviewed five semifinalists. While she said the search committee recommended that the Select Board interview both Jarosz and Williams, Merritt said the panel unanimously recommended Jarosz’s appointment.
“Stephanie had wonderful longtime experience as an assistant clerk,” said Merritt. “She could probably walk into that position very comfortably. I myself have worked at the polls for 30 years, and she has a ton of experience working at the polls. The elections can get pretty hard to handle if the town clerk doesn’t know what is going on. I think Stephanie would do a very good job.”
Leahy said Jarosz and Williams were both “two good candidates who bring different strengths to what this role entails.”
“I did find Stephanie’s experience and her approach made me feel the same kind of sentiment that she could walk into this role and be able to do it well without much training,” said Leahy.
Dalton said he chaired the Town Clerk Search Screening Committee. While he said Jarosz and Williams were both “capable” of doing the job, Dalton said the search committee endorsed Jarosz’s appointment “without any reservation.”
Crawford said he was impressed with Jarosz’s “experience and qualifications.”
“I would certainly agree with the decision from your board as well,” said Crawford to Dalton.
After the discussion, the Select Board unanimously voted to appoint Jarosz as Lynnfield’s next town clerk.