North Andover Selectman Chris Nobile Resigns From Select Board

NORTH ANDOVER, MA —North Andover Selectman Chris Nobile announced his resignation from the town's Select Board at the board's meeting Monday night. The resignation became official at midnight Tuesday.

Nobile, who has served five and a half years on the board, told Patch in a statement that the decision was made after he and his wife Suzie "chose not to continue to have a domicile in addition to our summer home in Ogunquit (Maine)."

The Valley Patriot reported last week that Nobile had come under fire from some political activists who questioned whether he actually lived in North Andover. The paper reported that in April, Nobile had applied to be on the Town Board in Ogunquit.

Nobile told Patch that his family has decided to live full-time in Maine because his wife is retired and their youngest son just transferred to the University of New England in Maine.

"North Andover has been our home for 27 years, raising our family," Nobile said in a statement at Monday's meeting. "It has truly been an honor to work collaboratively, to incrementally build better town services and support all North Andover citizens for the next future challenges and opportunities."

Nobile added: "Thank you for your trust and encouragement to be your advocate for the past 15 years, serving on the School Committee, Finance Committee and Select Board. I've always seen these positions not as an individual effort, or career, but as part of a relay team, doing my part as others have before me, taking that baton and running the course, then handing it off to the next."

Nobile, who works financial services industry, said some of his proudest achievements during his time in office were: creating a new Master Plan, developing an other post-employment benefits(OPEB) plan relating to retirement benefits of town employees, embracing LGBTQ and designating June as Pride Month on a permanent basis, creating programs and services to help businesses and citizens recover after the Columbia gas disaster and the pandemic, and getting the senior center project approved and under construction.

"None of this would have happened without the dedicated work of fellow Select Board members past and present and the phenomenal staff of Town Hall," Nobile said in his statement.

Nobile added: "To my follow board members, combined your skills, manner and heart have boosted North Andover beyond expectations."

According to Nobile, the Select Board now has a few options in filling the seat. They can interview and choose a short-term replacement to serve the remaining months of Nobile's term, which ends in March, they can hold a special election, or the Select Board can choose to keep the seat empty until March.