James Frederick Shurtleff (July 28, 1910–November 18, 1964) was an American journalist, politician, and

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...

Early life

Shurtleff was born on July 28, 1910 in Middleborough, Massachusetts. He attended

Williston Academy Williston Northampton School (simply referred to as Williston) is a Independent school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational, Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding college-preparatory school in Easthampton, Massachusetts, United S ...

and

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

. Shurtleff worked as a writer for the ''Middleborough Journal'' and '' The Standard-Times''. In 1937, while working for the ''Journal'', Shurtleff was elected to the Middleborough Board of Selectmen. On August 12, 1938, Shurtleff married Thalia Elizabeth Forsberg. They would go on to have four children together. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Shurtleff served as one of Middleborough's three blackout coordinators.

Mansfield, Massachusetts

In 1943, Shurtleff, who had no prior experience in the day-to-day administrative operations of a town, was named Town Manager of

Mansfield, Massachusetts Mansfield is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the United States 2020 Census, the town population is 23,860. Mansfield is in the south-southwest suburbs of Boston and is also close to Providence, Rhode Island. The vill ...

. In 1945, Shurtleff dismissed Police Chief John Haines and named Lawrence Barrows to succeed him. Haines refused to turn over his badge and the keys to the police cruiser and maintained that he was still chief. Two months later, a Special Town Meeting voted to direct the Board of Selectmen to reinstate Haines as Chief. Shurtleff, who accused Haines of 35 counts of misconduct, including

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and insubordination, refused to reinstate the former chief. The dismissal was upheld by the

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the court of last resort, highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the di ...

and the Civil Service Commission.

Brookfield, Illinois

In August 1947, Shurtleff was named village manager of

Brookfield, Illinois Brookfield (formerly Grossdale) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located west of downtown Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 19,476. The city is home to the Brookfield Zoo. Geography Brookfield is located at ...

. Shurtleff left Brookfield after only eight months to become Town Manager in Saugus, Massachusetts.

Saugus, Massachusetts

On February 16, 1948, Shurtleff was unanimously chosen by the Board of Selectmen to become the first Town Manager of Saugus. On February 1, 1950, Shurtleff resigned as Town Manager to accept a similar job in Medford, Massachusetts.

Medford, Massachusetts

In 1950, Shurtleff became Medford's first-ever City Manager. During his tenure in Medford, Shurtleff clashed with State Tax Commissioner Henry F. Long over who could appoint assessors. The dispute went before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, who ruled in favor of Shurtleff. On November 20, 1956, the Medford City Council voted 4 to 3 in favor of firing Shurtleff. After his dismissal, Shurtleff was granted a public hearing a second vote on whether or not he should be fired. Once again, the City Council voted in favor of dismissal. In 1957, Shurtleff ran for and was elected to the Medford City Council. Soon after his election, Shurtleff led the charge to remove his successor as City Manager, John B. Kennedy, from office. On April 8, 1958 the city council voted for to 4 to 3 to fire Kennedy. Shurtleff was later involved in the effort to remove City Manager John C. Carr, charging that City Councilor John C. Carr, Jr.'s vote for his father was a conflict of interest. On November 18, 1964, Shurtleff died at his home of a heart attack.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shurtleff, James 1910 births 1964 deaths City managers of Medford, Massachusetts Town Managers of Saugus, Massachusetts Massachusetts city council members People from Middleborough, Massachusetts Politicians from Medford, Massachusetts 20th-century American politicians