Select Board clears ZBA chair of misconduct complaint

Select Board · Meeting of October 13, 2026

CHATHAM — The Chatham Select Board voted 5-0 to dismiss a misconduct complaint against Zoning Board of Appeals member David Nixon. The board adopted Town Counsel Jay Talerman's finding that Nixon's comments during an August 20 hearing on a 40B housing project were "provocative" but not a legal violation. Chair Jeffrey Dykens said the hyperbole had become "a verbal pollutant," but agreed no sanction was warranted.

Clerk Randi Potash, who served alongside Nixon for five years, said he "never once tried to put his opinion on anyone" during deliberations. The board separately opened its fiscal 2028 budget summit, with Finance Director Carrie projecting a $62.4 million general fund operating budget, up 3.53 percent, and appointed five residents to town boards, including Peter Donovan to the Historical Commission and James Patterson to the Public Ceremonies Committee.

In the full story:

• Routine Business and Public Comment
• Budget Summit Kickoff: Fiscal 2028 Outlook
• Police and Community Services: "Changing Tides" in Service Delivery
• Monomoy Regional School District: Enrollment Decline and Capital Pressures
• Committee Appointments
• Release of Town Counsel Opinion on Complaint Against David Nixon
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,859 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of October 13, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.