The chairman of the Pelham Board of Selectmen, Ed Gleason, has resigned from the board.

Gleason announced he was leaving the board near the end of its Tuesday, Oct. 9 meeting. His resignation took effect the next day.

It was a move, he wrote in his resignation letter, that was made with “sincere regret and great disappointment.”

“After considerable reflection and an introspective review of my personal priorities, I have come to the realization that, despite the time and effort I have committed to this task, I am no longer capable of dedicating the time and resources to effectively carry out the duties the townspeople deserve and elected me to accomplish,” Gleason wrote.

He added: “Further, recognizing that the goals and objectives I have established for my term cannot be met in the current environment, and may, in effect, be contributing to an ongoing disharmony within the Board of Selectmen and with the Budget Committee, I have decided to step aside in favor of new leadership and allow the Board to seek a more committed and effective replacement.”

Gleason, who was the board’s representative to the Budget Committee, was elected a selectman in March 2005. His threeyear term would have expired in March 2008.

Contacted by telephone, Gleason said he did not want to elaborate on his letter. In an e-mail to others, he said that he and his wife, Mary, are both in good health.

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the current board, all the many dedicated town employees I have had the pleasure of working with and those wonderful and unselfish volunteers who have been so supportive of my efforts on behalf of the Town of Pelham, which I am proud to call my home,” Gleason wrote in his resignation letter.

Gleason’s resignation caught others, including Selectman Hal Lynde, by surprise.

“He expressed frustration with the inability to get things done,” said Lynde. “I know he worked hard at (the job), put a lot of effort into it.”

“It was a shock. I don’t think anyone was expecting it,” said Selectman Victor Danevich.

“Pelham lost a really good guy.”

Danevich and Town Administrator Tom Gaydos said that selectmen can appoint an interim member to serve until March, when town elections will be held, or leave the seat vacant until then.

“I’m open with any way the board wants to go,” said Danevich.

“It’s the board’s choice.”

If they don’t fill the seat, someone could petition the Superior Court to make an appointment.

Gaydos said he expects the board will decide how to proceed when members meet again on Tuesday, Oct. 23. One person has already expressed interest in serving but has not officially applied, he said.

Gleason’s departure is the second time in five months a selectman has resigned from the board.

In June, Tom Domenico, citing personal and business commitments, left the board. Domenico, who works for the Massachusetts Port Authority, moved to North Easton, Mass., with his family. He was replaced by former Budget Committee member Doug Viger.

If the board decides to appoint someone to fill Gleason’s seat, Danevich said, he expects the board will follow the same process used after Domenico resigned: posting the vacancy and interviewing candidates before making a selection.