NEWPORT — The Selectboard appointed Rachel Dilger to the board in a 4-0 vote on Monday.

Dilger was one of seven residents to apply for the seat, which was occupied by Bert Spaulding Sr. until he resigned last month.

The seat will be up for election, along with three others, at Town Meeting in May.

Dilger, 39, moved to Newport in July of 2023, from Arizona. She and her husband, Kyle, work remotely for two Arizona businesses they partly own; a real estate investment company and a plastics manufacturer, she said Tuesday.

Having grown up in Massachusetts and vacationed in the area, Dilger said they chose to make their home in Newport and have “fallen in love with a community that has been welcoming and supportive.”

Dilger has served 16 years on the board of directors for her company and also five years on the advisory board of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz., she wrote in her letter of request to the Selectboard seeking the position. Those experiences, she said, have given her a “sense of fiscal responsibility.”

Selectboard Chairman Jim Burroughs said Dilger’s financial background will be a plus as the board gears up for budget season.

Other candidates for the seat included former board member Keith Sayer and Doug Ring, who finished second among four candidates for a seat on the board in the Town Meeting election last May; as well as Evan Baugh, Barbara Bishop, Nikki Murphy and Scott Stanton.

— Patrick O’Grady