West Newbury gains a new town clerk and Haverhill begins the search for a replacement assistant city clerk.
James R. Blatchford, who was hired in Haverhill a little more than a year and a half ago, was hired recently as town clerk by the neighboring town, succeeding Michael P. McCarron, who also served as town counsel
“What I can tell you is because I will be serving solely as town clerk, I will have the ability to bring a different level of focus to the day-to-day operations of the Town Clerk’s office like our annual elections, business certificates and vital records to name a few,” Blatchford said in a statement.
Blatchford added he will be paying special attention to increasing the level of customer service at the office. He explained, “with my prior work experience both in the public and private sectors, but especially over the last year and a half working full-time for the City of Haverhill through the COVID and the 2020 election, I know the level of work expected out of a busy office.”
He did not leave Haverhill before thanking his colleagues in the city.
“I truly enjoyed my time in Haverhill, not only was the clerk’s office an amazing team to work with, but everyone in City Hall was a true pleasure to work with.”
Blatchford previously served as the District F member on the Lawrence School Committee. He gave up the seat for a close, but unsuccessful, run for City Council in 2015. He dropped out of the Lawrence City Council race in 2017 after losing his State House job as legislative aide to Sudbury Democratic state Rep. Carmine Gentile.
He most recently worked as business development specialist for HBSS Connect Corp., Lowell. Blatchford is graduate of Lawrence High School and earned his bachelor’s from University of Massachusetts, Lowell.