By The Advocate
info@advocatenews.net

In a surprising development, it was publicly disclosed earlier this week that Saugus Town Manager Andrew Bisignani is one of four finalists being considered for the town manager’s job in Winchester.
The other finalists are Andrew Maylor, the town administrator in Swamp-scott; Richard C. Howard, the retiring mayor of Malden; and Thomas G. Younger, Belmont’s town administrator.
When the position was first posted on-line in July, the advertisement offered a salary between $130,000 and $160,000 a year.
There originally were 54 applicants for the position, of which 10 were recently interviewed by a special “town manager search advisory committee”.
The announcement of the four finalists was made Monday night at a Winchester board of selectmen meeting.
Bob Joy, chairman of the search committee, said each of the finalists possess exceptional leadership and managerial skills.
All four candidates will undergo public interviews in Winchester next Wednesday evening.
The Winchester selectmen also plan to visit the finalists in their current workplaces “to get a sense of their roles in their communities”.
The final selection is expected to be made by mid-November.
Bisignani has been the town manager in Saugus since 2002. Prior to that, he held several positions in Revere, including city auditor, purchasing agent and chief financial officer.
Maylor has held the top job in Swampscott for the past nine years. Previously, he was the deputy city manager in Chelsea.
Howard, an attorney by profession, has been the mayor of Malden since 1996 and as such has also been the chairman of the city’s school board. He chose not to seek re-election this year.
Younger was the town administrator in North Reading for 10 years before taking on the same role in Belmont in 2005. He also worked for the state for a decade in the division of capital planning.
If Bisignani winds up with the Winchester job, the town of Saugus would be faced with the task of conducting its own search for a new town manager at a time when financial issues continue to be a weighty concern here.