Rich Cebra has resigned from the Naples Selectboard, effective immediately. Courtesy photo
NAPLES — After four years on the Selectboard, Rich Cebra has resigned from his position without giving a reason.
“I’m not going to comment on it,” he told Lakes Region Weekly.
In a June 24 email to Selectboard members and the town manager in which he tendered his immediate resignation, Cebra said he has served on various town committees for 17 years, including the Budget Committee, the Causeway Revitalization Committee and the Comprehensive Plan Committee.
“My hope is that I have done some good over the last 17 years on the various committees on which I served the people of the Town of Naples,” he wrote. “I wish you all continued success as you continue to serve the people of Naples.”
He was reelected to the Selectboard in May 2018 and there are two years remaining in his term. Naples will fill the vacant seat at a special election in November. Nomination papers for that position will become available on July 26.
Town Manager John Hawley said Cebra’s resignation was unexpected, although he said Cebra had discussed not running for the Legislature again. He was reelected last November as a state representative for District 68 in his sixth nonconsecutive term.
“Prior to his election with the state, he had talked about thinking that he and his wife were kind of ready to retire or semi-retire to Florida in the winters. He had discussed the potential of not running for the Legislature again. But I didn’t see the resignation from my board,” Hawley said.
Hawley said that as a selectman, Cebra’s looked out for local businesses and taxpayers.
“He was a proponent for finding ways to do things efficiently and cost effectively, but it was important to him that the jobs got done right. Not doing things on the cheap just to say we did it,” he said.
Cebra is a resident of Naples and the owner and CEO of The Steamboat Landing Corporation.
While Hawley said he does not know why Cebra resigned, he has noticed an increase in the “lack of civility” in local politics, and fewer and fewer people are volunteering for town positions.
Local elected officials “are volunteers looking to do the best thing that they can for the community, and there’s no way to make everybody happy. There’s a vocal minority out there that create a lot of hostility for public officials, and they tend to drive these people away,” he said. ” People are afraid of going out there and doing good for their community in fear of being chastised for it.”
Chairman of the Selectboard James Grattelo could not be reached for comment.
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