Glenn Cannon started out as an engineer who was frequently told he didn’t talk like an engineer. No wonder his career path ended where he is today, as Rochester’s town administrator since March of this year.
The Wareham native, 58, said that as he grew up, engineering and math came natural for him. “But also I like to talk to people, give them the reasons, the facts behind anything I’m explaining,” he said.
He didn’t mind it when in his early career he was told he did not sound like an engineer. He saw what they were saying. It was because he likes to communicate ideas to people in very simple, clear ways. “When it’s complicated issues, it’s important to me to be able to break down things and explain them simply to others.”
After he graduated from UMass Dartmouth’s engineering program, he went to work for the state Highway Department and then the Cape Cod Commission. By the time he started the latter job, he had put hands-on engineering work behind him in favor of managing and budgeting projects such as the ongoing plans to replace the Bourne and Sagamore bridges.
In 2017, he became the assistant town administrator in the town of Bourne. “It was an opportunity to work in Bourne and help them with their issues,” he explained, “such as assisting them with establishing their waste water treatment plant. It was still about helping the local community, which I love to do.”
It was in these early jobs that he developed the skills he uses to this day as town administrator. In his Cape Cod Commission job, for example, he said, “I was building funding programs for projects and building the public and political consensus that gets projects approved. I learned you have to tally the consensus of leaders and the public before any project can move forward. It was a great experience for this job, for getting me ready for this job.”
Cannon became Bourne’s acting town administrator after the chief administrator resigned. Then an interim town administrator was appointed but didn’t last long. Still, Cannon was not considered for the full-time job.
Just the same, he said, “I left on good terms. I wasn’t leaving because I was not satisfied. I put two Bourne selectmen on my reference list.”
Cannon said he applied for the job in Rochester because he saw it as a natural fit for him in more ways than one. “I saw this position as a chance to grow,” he said. “I saw it as the opportunity to advance myself. Plus, I live in South Middleboro. I can walk my dog to Rochester. I love the rural nature of the town of Rochester.”
He’s happy he landed in Rochester and he is making the most of his first year here. He plans to introduce himself to every town board (he’s visited a few already.) He is getting great support from Town Hall staff. He sits down regularly with the prior town administrator, Suzanne Szyndlar, with lists of questions that she usually answers on the spot.
What does he like most about being Rochester’s town administrator? “The town is trying to better itself,” he said. “There are plans for a new fire station (Town Meeting just approved a $110,000 feasibility study for this.) There are plans for a new Highway barn salt shed and to get a public water system for Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School (in cooperation with the school’s four other member towns.) I like those kinds of big projects and look forward to seeing them move forward.”
By Michael J. DeCicco