BY DARRELL HALEN

Doug Viger, who was appointed to the Pelham Board of Selectmen late last month, has been sworn in to his new position.

Viger officially joined the board on June 12.

He replaces Tom Domenico, who cited personal and business commitments when he announced he would be stepping down from the board. Domenico, who works for the Massachusetts Port Authority, moved to North Easton, Mass.

Viger is no stranger to issues facing Pelham. His familiarity with thoses issues was cited when selectmen selected him to replace Domenico in late May.

“I thought he was a good choice because of his breadth of experience,” said board Chairman Ed Gleason, citing that Viger has served on the town’s budget committee, capital improvement plan committee and sought to be a selectman last March.

“It’s all indicative of someone who’s conscientious and who really wants to do the job,” Gleason said.

Viger was elected to a two-year term on the Budget Committee in 2003. He was elected to a three-year term two years later.

Viger was one of five candidates who ran for the board of selectmen last March. Two seats were available. Viger made a strong third-place finish garnering 1,067 votes, finishing behind Bob Haverty who got 1,191 votes and Hal Lynde who received 1,158 votes.

Viger will serve on the board of selectmen until March 2008, when Domenico’s term was to expire. He said he will run for the seat in March.

His main objective, Viger said, is to identify all capital improvement needs, prioritize them and put them on a timeline.

Viger has lived his entire life in Pelham. He is a 1991 graduate of Pelham High School. He earned an associate of applied science degree from New Hampshire Technical College in Manchester, where he studied heating, ventilation and air conditioning. He is currently employed as a territory manager for FW Webb. He and his wife, Donna, have two sons, Tyler and Connor.