Troy Clarkson Named New Plymouth County Administrator

Valanzola Alleges Backroom Political "Fix"

PLYMOUTH - July 1, 2026 - The Plymouth County Commission has named veteran municipal leader Dr. Troy Clarkson as the county’s next Administrator following a fractured 2-1 roll-call vote that erupted into allegations of backroom political maneuvering. Clarkson, the current Chief Financial Officer for the City of Brockton and a former Plymouth County Administrator, was tapped to take the administrative helm over two other prominent finalists. The decision sparked a blistering rebuke from dissenting Commissioner Jared Valanzola, who openly accused his colleagues of orchestrating a pre-arranged "fix" and operating a "uniparty alliance" that violated the state's Open Meeting Law.

The Full Story

The Plymouth County Commission’s search for a successor to long-time County Administrator Frank Basler concluded with a return to a familiar face. Dr. Troy Clarkson, currently serving as a CFO in Brockton, beat out two other prominent finalists: Christopher Heffernan, the county’s current Administrator-in-Training and a Weymouth town councilor, and Darleen Sullivan, the outgoing Town Administrator for Norwell.

The position drew distinct expectations from the commissioners. Commissioner Gregory Hanley explicitly framed the future of the county as moving beyond standard caretakers. Hanley outlined a multi-year agenda targeting massive regional revenue and utility infrastructure projects, specifically regionalizing water quality control, managing PFAS contamination, and establishing waste-to-energy initiatives.

During his interview on June 29, Clarkson positioned himself as an out-of-the-box thinker capable of executing this precise regional scale. He highlighted his recent success in Brockton, where he organized a massive $360 million pension obligation bond program that saved the city an estimated $95 million and directly funded a new public safety building without raising taxes. Clarkson also floated bold regional ideas for the county, including a county-wide animal control shelter system and exploring a multi-billion-dollar regional desalination plant to address the South Shore’s worsening aquifer strains.

“A manager gets the trains to run on time, where a leader gets people to jump on the train with them. I think what I offer to you and what I think is needed at Plymouth County at this point in its history is both.” — Dr. Troy Clarkson