It’s official. Cameron Durant, previously the Human Resources director for the Town of Fairhaven, will become Rochester’s new town administrator on September 9. He will be introduced to the public at the Select Board meeting on that date.
“Municipal government is my passion,” said Durant during the interview with the Select Board that led to the job offer. He noted it has been a personal hobby and is now a professional pursuit. Becoming a town administrator has been his goal for over a decade.
After negotiations with the Select Board last week, Durant, who was offered the job on August 14, agreed to a three-year contract that will extend to June 30, 2027.
Meanwhile, Interim Town Administrator Suzanne Szyndlar will remain at Town Hall as finance director, giving up the dual role she has held since March. “I will be going back to my original position,” she said. “But I’ll be around. I’ll always be here to help with the transition.”
The town administrator position was vacated by Glenn Cannon when he accepted a similar role in Carver in March.
Select Board member Adam Murphy said during Durant’s interview that his appeal to the board was his engaging personality and eagerness to learn. It was something Murphy identified as crucial, especially considering Szyndlar’s plan to retire not only from her post as interim town administrator, but at the end of June 2025, from her job as the town’s finance director.
Durant also noted in his interview that he started out as an operations manager at Amazon and Lyft. Having worked for the Town of Fairhaven in the Public Works department, a permitting position, before getting his human-resources certification, he said he doesn’t consider himself “the most innovative” person but able to get to use his communication skills to get “the buy-in” on town-wide projects.
He joins a town facing the financial challenge of building a new fire station and upgrading both the police station and Rochester Memorial School.
Rochester Select Board
By Michael J. DeCicco