Charlie Seelig becomes East Bridgewater town administrator after 26 years serving Halifax

EAST BRIDGEWATER – Charlie Seelig is East Bridgewater's new town administrator, and he comes with a depth of experience and a passion for the job.

Seelig, 61, was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts. He said he remembers first becoming interested in government when he got involved in political campaigns as a child and teenager, helping friends run for city council and other local positions.

"I remember stapling signs when I was 7 or 8 years old to put out on lawns or on top of cars or things like that," he said. "So my interest in government and has always been there."

Seelig said he even remembers running a campaign storefront for Mike Dukakis as a teen in 1974 when he was running for governor, though now he doesn't participate in any politics now as a public official for ethical reasons.

Seelig went on to get a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in public administration from Columbia University in New York City. After graduating, he worked in the Department of Housing and Community Development in Boston.

At the time, Seelig said, towns were rethinking how to organize government, and he took a position working as an administrator for two towns on different days of the week in Brimfield and Holland near Sturbridge.

Seelig moved on to Rowley on the North Shore and then Weston, Connecticut, before settling in Halifax, where he worked as the town administrator for 26 years.

Seelig says he likes being a town administrator because it's "eclectic." Especially in small towns where there is little support staff, town administrators have to deal with a variety of town issues and manage many different town departments, he said.

"It's never boring. And you get a very well-rounded idea of all the types of matters that local government deals with on an everyday basis," he said.

"It's not just personal issues. It's not just budget issues. You're working on environmental planning and zoning, for instance. You're going to work on public safety issues, you're going to work on public works issues."

Seelig said the opportunity to work in East Bridgewater came at the right time for him. He said he was ready to do something new, but isn't ready to retire for several more years.

Though East Bridgewater is bigger than Halifax, the towns also have a similar government structure and culture, Seelig said, which should make for a smooth transition.

Seelig said the biggest issues East Bridgewater is facing right now are the sanitary sewer project with Brockton, handling the town budget, coming back from the COVID-19 pandemic, storm water management and making sure American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds are used wisely.

"Everybody's trying to figure out how best we can use this money for the community, and not necessarily use it in dribs and drabs," he said.

"This is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime amount of money available, and in there are some restrictions on how it can be used. But within those restrictions, what can we do that would have the longest lasting impact?"

Seelig said his goal as town administrator is to make sure everyone who contacts Town Hall gets the best reception possible.

"You want to build that relationship with each individual who either lives here or works here or is a business or whoever else so that they know that East Bridgewater government is there for them," he said.

"... We want each town to be a community, not just a place where people live, but where people interact and want to be here and want to be part of what goes on."

So far, Seelig said, he's had a warm welcome from everyone in town and at town hall.

"I'm really looking forward to working here in East Bridgewater," he said.

Enterprise staff writer Susannah Sudborough can be reached by email at ssudborough@enterprisenews.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @k_sudborough. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Enterprise today.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Meet East Bridgewater's new town administrator Charlie Seelig