Tisbury selectman Denys Wortman this week announced he was stepping down from the position, and endorsed Tisbury attorney Geoghan Coogan to fill his place on the board.

Mr. Wortman told Tuesday’s selectmen’s meeting he would step down, effective April 28.

He has served just one three-year term and had planned to go around again, but changed his mind after learning of Mr. Coogan’s interest. Age was a factor, he said. He is 70; Mr. Coogan is 32.

“Yes, I would have been willing to run for one more term,” Mr. Wortman told the Gazette on Wednesday. “But when a young person came along, who I think would be really good and have a lot of energy, I decided to step aside.

“So I called him up and said I would be more than willing to pull my papers out and support him,” Mr. Wortman said.

Mr. Coogan comes from a political family. His father, Edmond, served as a selectman in both Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven for a total of some 30 years before his death in 2001.

His uncle, Greg, serves as an Oak Bluffs selectman, and his sister, Nell, is legislative liaison for Martha’s Vineyard to state Representative Tim Madden.

Mr. Coogan said he had inherited a “deeply ingrained sense of duty” as well as a commitment to the Democratic Party.

“It’s something I’ve been thinking about for some time,” he said yesterday. “There’s a lot of tradition in it. And Tisbury’s the town I grew up in.

“But I had a young family and wanted to wait for the right time. I think now is the right time.”

He said he originally intended to run against Mr. Wortman, and had been surprised by his offer to step aside and offer his support.

“We certainly didn’t plan it that way,” he said.

“I pulled the papers in the morning and before I had any signatures [supporting the nomination] I had a call from Denny. We talked and he made that decision himself.

“I think Denny realized I was in for the long term, not just going to come in, do a term and ‘say see you later,’” Mr. Coogan said.

To date, Mr. Coogan is the only candidate for the selectman’s position, although nominations close on Tuesday.