Page 2 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, SEpTEmbEr 5, 2025 HOUSING AUTHORITY | FROM PAGE 1 you have given them chances and chances to get paid up. It would take six to nine months to evict someone for nonpayment of rent,” he said. “But if people don’t pay, the program will not work. Most people are good people. You’re in the business of helping people, not evicting them,” he said. The road to Saugus Hart didn’t have much connection to Saugus, other than the time he spent over the years driving up and down Route 1. So, what influenced him to apply for the job opening at the Saugus Housing Authority?. “The former executive director [Laura Glynn] asked if I would be interested and encouraged me to apply. So, I did,” Hart said. “Laura has been very helpful, showing me the ropes here. She’s still here, a few hours a week, helping out and getting me situated,” he said. “She was a good administrator and she’s helping me get settled in Saugus. It’s great to have somebody around to guide you. We have the same amount of years of experience as a housing authority executive director. I’ve known Laura for a few years from the conferences we’ve attended,” he said. As it turned out, Hart was Lawrence A. Simeone Jr. Attorney-at-Law ~ Since 1989 ~ * Corporate Litigation * Criminal/Civil * MCAD * Zoning/Land Court * Wetlands Litigation * Workmen’s Compensation * Landlord/Tenant Litigation * Real Estate Law * Construction Litigation * Tax Lien * Personal Injury * Bankruptcy * Wrongful Death * Zoning/Permitting Litigation 300 Broadway, Suite 1, Revere * 781-286-1560 lsimeonejr@simeonelaw.net considered the overwhelming choice among eight candidates considered by Housing Authority members because of his experience. The authority members voted 4-0 to hire him in July after interviewing three finalists for the job. He will be paid $116,970-a-year for 37.5 hours per week through the term ending Dec. 31, 2026. Hart worked about 17 years for the state Department of Housing and Community Development, first as an inspection coordinator and later as a housing management specialist. In February of 2014, he left the state Department of Housing and Community Development to become executive director of the Haverhill Housing Authority, where he worked for about eight years. “It’s a unique perspective, seeing it from both sides,” Hart said, referring to the state bureaucraADMIRING THE FLOWERS: New Saugus Housing Authority Executive Director Joseph A. Hart checked out the garden near the entrance of Heritage Heights on Tuesday afternoon and talked to some of the residents, including Ellen Santosuosso, who was seated on the bench. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) cy that funds authorities and the authorities that directly serve tenants at housing authority properties. Hart said he finds working as a housing authority director more rewarding “because you get a chance to see the impact of your work.” “The state is like the wholesale side of business and the housing authority is like the retail business,” he said. Hart was a Political Science major when he studied for his bachelor’s degree at the University of Massachusetts Boston. “After graduation, I needed to work. I learned of an opportunity in the state Department of Housing and Community Development,” Hart recalled. “I took a low level job. I stuck with it, and here I am,” he said. A lifelong Boston resident Glynn, who worked more than a decade as the executive director of the Saugus Housing Authority, resigned in April of last year to spend more time taking care of her ailing father. She agreed to stay on in the transition weeks as needed to help Katelynn M. Lemieux prepare to be her replacement. Lemieux resigned in February of this year after just 10 months on the job. Glynn agreed to come back again to help manage the authority properties while the Housing Authority conducted another job search. Since Hart’s hiring, she has worked a few hours a week to assist with the transition. Hart is married with two adult sons. He said he has no plans of leaving Boston and will comHOUSING AUTHORITY | SEE PAGE 3
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