Lexington Town Manager Steve Bartha is being considered for the open Town Manager position in Ipswich.
“I did decide to explore the Ipswich opportunity because it’s a community my family and I have longstanding ties to, and it’s a position I had considered pursuing previously,” Bartha told the Observer. “I want to be clear that I remain fully focused on my work in Lexington and on the many important initiatives currently underway here.”
On Monday, he told the Select Board “he was exploring the possibility in Ipswich and would be announced as a finalist that evening,” Select Board Chair Jill Hai told the Observer.
“Lexington is an outstanding community with a strong team, and I’ve greatly appreciated the opportunity to serve here since joining the team in 2024,” Bartha said. “The Ipswich process is still ongoing, and I’m approaching it thoughtfully, but nothing changes in my day-to-day commitment to Lexington in the meantime.”
Ipswich’s Select Board has been conducting “weeks of screening and interviews” and narrowed its search for a new town manager down to three candidates, including Bartha, an article posted by The Local News notes.
Bartha and the other two candidates will tour Ipswich and participate in community meet-and-greets in the coming weeks, that article says.
Bartha became Lexington’s Town Manager in the fall of 2024. He replaced James Malloy, who served the town as manager for six years before retiring.
“Opportunities like this occasionally come up in local government, and I felt it was reasonable to explore one in a community that has personal meaning for my family, but my focus remains on doing the job the Lexington community hired me to do,” Bartha said.