TAUNTON — The Taunton City Council voted Tuesday, June 2, 2026, to make a conditional offer to Rosalind Grassie for the position of clerk of committees after rejecting a motion to repost the job.
The vote came after Council President Barry Sanders said Katie Garcia Brown, who had previously been offered the position, declined the offer.
“So we now are in the position of needing to make another choice,” Sanders said.
Sanders said the two remaining candidates — Rosalind Grassie, who currently serves as Taunton’s assistant elections director, and Herbert Day — had already been interviewed by the Committee of the Whole.
Councilor Edward Correira then made a motion to repost the position for 14 days, which was seconded.
During discussion, Councilor David Pottier opposed reposting the position, citing the length of the hiring process and the remaining candidate pool.
“We had 22 applicants. We interviewed 11,” Pottier said. “We gave five names to the committee, for the entire council’s interview.”
Pottier said one candidate backed out immediately, one offer had already been made, and another candidate later backed out, leaving two remaining applicants from the original pool.
Sanders also urged the council not to restart the process, saying the city had been working for nearly two months to fill the position and had a limited window for the previous clerk to provide training.
“If the council chooses to repost this position and we go through that process, the new person will arrive with absolutely no one available to provide any training for this very important position,” Sanders said.
The motion to repost the position failed 5-4.
After the motion failed, the council voted on the two remaining candidates. Grassie received six votes, while three councilors voted neither or present. No councilor voted for Day.
Sanders said Grassie would be made a conditional offer for the clerk of committees position.
