CHEBEAGUE ISLAND — Michelle Jackson, who currently wears many hats at Gray’s town office, will soon bring her expertise to the island as its new town clerk.
The Board of Selectmen unanimously approved hiring the Raymond woman on Monday, according to Town Administrator Eric Dyer.
Jackson, chosen from a pool of about 12 applicants, “has a tremendous amount of energy and enthusiasm and interest in the community, and her skill set matches very well what we need, and she seems to have a good bit of … charisma and discipline,” Dyer said on Tuesday.
Jackson replaces Susan Campbell, town clerk since the island gained independence from Cumberland in 2007, who left May 11 to work at the Dropping Springs lobster co-op in Portland.
A vacancy remains for deputy town clerk.
Jackson will work on the island part-time next month, and begin in a regular capacity Aug. 6.
Besides her role as administrative assistant to the Gray town manager, her responsibilities there include registrar of voters, town office manager, deputy town clerk, and deputy tax collector. She has been there for more than five years, previously served in the U.S. Army, and worked in the business world in upstate New York before moving to Maine almost eight years ago.
Jackson recently is the immediate past president of the Cumberland County Municipal Clerks Association, and she is a certified clerk of Maine and a graduate of the New England Municipal Clerks Institute and Academy.
Jackson, 40, is married and has four children. The youngest will attend Chebeague Island School this fall, and Jackson said she plans to move to the island later this summer.
A lifestyle change for her children was a big draw of the Chebeague job, she said Tuesday. “I wanted to work in the same community that I lived in,” she said, citing the island’s small population and close-knit nature.
“Chebeague’s a new town,” Jackson added, “so that was intriguing.”
Alex Lear can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 113 or alear@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @learics.
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