By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD – And then there were four.
The Town Council will meet tonight to begin the process of interviewing the four finalists to fill the position of Town Administrator.
Two of the final four candidates will be interviewed in the first floor conference room at Town Hall beginning at 6 p.m. The other two interviews will be held on Thursday at the same time and place. Both meetings are open to the public and will also be available via Zoom.
The Town Administrator’s job vacancy occurred when Stephen P. Maio retired on July 3 after 17 years in the position. Interim Town Administrator Kevin Gill has been filling in pending the hiring of a permanent Town Administrator.
Over the summer, the Town Administrator Screening Committee has been working with executive search firm Community Paradigm Associates to narrow the more than 20 applicants down to the four who will be interviewed by the Town Council this week.
The Council anticipates appointing a new Town Administrator at a special meeting next Monday, Aug. 18. An employment contract would then have to be negotiated with the successful candidate.
The four finalists consist of three women and one man. Tonight, the Town Council will interview Denise Y. Casey and Joseph J. Domelowicz. On Thursday, they will interview Liz Hartsgrove and Ann McGonigle Santos.
Denise Casey has been Deputy Town Manager for the town of North Andover for the last 6 and a half years. Prior to that she served as that town’s Assistant Town Manager. A graduate of Danvers High School, Casey holds a master’s degree in Public Administration, which she earned in 1998 at Suffolk University’s Sawyer Business School.
Joseph J. Domelowicz is currently Town Manager in Hamilton, Mass., a position he has held for seven years. Prior to that, he worked as Grants Manager/Assistant to the Town Manager in Winthrop for six years. He previously worked for three years as Senior Municipal Services Coordinator for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.
Prior to his employment in municipal government, Domelowicz worked as an editor and reporter for several area newspapers. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, serving from 1988 to 1991.
Liz Hartsgrove earned a master’s degree in Public Administration in 2022 from Suffolk University’s Sawyer Business School. Since 2023 she has worked at UMass Boston as a guest speaker on the topic of “enhancing service experience.” Prior to that, she worked as Assistant Town Manager for the town of Bourne for nearly three years.
She has also held positions of “guest speaker” at Suffolk University and the Cape Cod Community Institute specializing public service-related areas.
Hartsgrove also held a number of administrative positions with the town of Barnstable over more than eight years, from 2014 to 2022.
Ann McGonigle Santos received a BA from Brown University in 1988 and earned her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law in 1992.
From 1997 to the present, she has worked at Suffolk University and Suffolk University School of Law. For 16 years, she was an Associate Professor of Legal Writing. She served as Associate Dean of Students at the law school for more than nine years and Interim Dean of Students for 16 months. For the last two years, Santos has served as Dean of Law and Graduate Student Affairs at Suffolk University.
Santos was elected three times to the Wakefield Board of Selectmen/Town Council, serving on the board from 2013-2022. She is a 1984 graduate of Wakefield Memorial High School.