NORTH YARMOUTH — Select Board Chairman Peter Lacy has submitted his resignation because he is moving to Cumberland.

Lacy’s last meeting as a selectman will be Tuesday, Dec. 19. Town Manager Rosemary Roy said his seat will be filled in the June 2018 town election.

Lacy, who was elected about 1 1/2 years ago and has been chairman of the board for fewer than six months, announced his departure at the end of the panel’s Dec. 5 meeting. The board, with member Anne Graham absent, then elected Jennifer Speirs chairwoman, with Jeanne Chadbourne remaining vice chairwoman.

“In my mind, it’s better to (step down as chairman) this week so that myself and (Town Manager Rosemary Roy) and whoever the new chair is, can meet next week and kind of pass the baton,” Lacy said during the Dec. 5 meeting, viewable online.

While he enjoys living in North Yarmouth, the 20-minute drive from his Royal Road home to the Mabel I. Wilson School in Cumberland, where his two children attend school, can be daunting, Lacy said in an interview Tuesday. His new home on Woodside Drive will be less than a mile from the school.

Lacy said he had hoped to see the rebuilding of Wescustogo Hall through to fruition during his time on the Select Board but believes the panel is in good hands with the remaining members.

“You’ve got four good people who are invested in the future of the town, and seem to work pretty well together,” he said.

Lacy, 37 and an attorney with the state, said he has considered running for elected office in Cumberland. But, he added, “at this point I’m going to take a little bit of a break and settle in and do some painting, meet the neighbors, that kind of thing.”

Lacy’s road to the North Yarmouth board wasn’t easy. His bid for the panel in June 2016 against incumbent Jim Moulton ended in a 409-409 tie. A recount produced the same result. Lacy eventually won an August 2016 runoff election, 385-216.

Working with Lacy “has been wonderful,” Roy said Tuesday, calling him “a great leader” who is passionate about the town.

Speirs has only been on the board since June, but the manager expressed confidence in her ability to lead the panel.

“I think she’ll do a great job,” Roy said.

Lacy shared that opinion.

“I think Jen’s going to be very capable as a chair and also as … carrying on that flag of the younger segment of the North Yarmouth population,” he said.

Alex Lear can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 113 or alear@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @learics.

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