Republican candidates for public office in Little Compton spent 90 minutes Monday evening talking about their vision for the town’s future, and what they plan to accomplish if elected, during a public forum sponsored by the Republican Town Committee and held at the Little Compton Community Center.

Moderated by long-time Channel 10 newscaster Gene Valicenti, the forum was notable for its absence — much as was the case two years ago, Democrats did not attend and instead will go over their platforms later this month at a forum sponsored by East Bay Media Group, publisher of the Sakonnet Times. Still, GOP officials laid out name cards for all Democrats and Independent candidates, putting them in front of empty seats for the forum.

Republican Town Council

Answering questions posed by Valicenti were town council incumbent candidates Bob Mushen, Paul Golembeske and Gary Mataronas. Their Republican challengers are Maureen Rego and Scott Lewis.

The loss of family farms and the need to help farmers who are still in town was a dominant theme at the start of the question-and-answer period. 

“One of our biggest problems is losing our farms,” said Mataronas. “We only have a couple of produce farmers left in town. We need to do more to help them.”

Referencing the Little Compton Agricultural Trust, which he has often critiqued at public meetings, Mataronas added, “It’s great to conserve land, but if you are not putting farmers on it, all you’re doing is preserving open space. I think the Ag Trust needs to do more — to step up and help the farmer.”

Asked what steps they would take to help small businesses in town and to resolve the housing affordability crisis, most candidate responses focused on taking a closer look at easing zoning restrictions, cutting red tape, and offering tax breaks and tax incentives when practical.

“We have two-acre zoning,” said Mushen. “And that is what we want because of our water supply and septic system capabilities. But we have to be amenable and interested in the possibility of helping someone who has less than two acres.”

Candidates praised the work of non-profit groups such as Little Compton Housing Trust and The Commons Foundation, which are focused on addressing the housing affordability crisis in town, but acknowledged that younger people who grew up in town are leaving at an alarming rate.

“We want to keep our young kids in town,” Mataronas said. “If you’ve lived here 40 years and you have children who are 20 years old, it breaks your heart to see them move out of town, because they can’t afford to live in Little Compton.”

He referenced the council’s approval this year of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), also known as in-law apartments, as one approach intended to address the problem.

School committee

Gender issues, a federal lawsuit regarding Title IX and its implementation in Little Compton, and what books are available in the school library have all been hot topics in recent months. But none of those issues were addressed by the candidates, and Valicenti did not ask any questions on those topics.

However, incumbent school committee member Michael Rocha Jr. and challenger Brandon Pineo both touched on parents’ sense of “disenfranchisement,” with both suggesting families are pulling students from the district and enrolling them elsewhere or homeschooling them for that reason. 

“We can’t have the attitude that the school knows everything,” said Rocha, who also serves as chairman of the Republican Town Committee. “It’s got to work both ways. You’ve got to have the parents as well as the school working together.”

Pineo acknowledged that student departures from the district are due to other factors as well. 

“Gentrification in towns, the cost of housing, is a statewide thing, but it is particularly an issue here in Little Compton. There have been a number of individuals who have chosen to move on that we’ve heard from…they simply can’t afford it.”

Both candidates stressed fiscal conservatism in managing the school department.

“We have the second highest per pupil cost in the state of Rhode Island,” said Rocha. “I think there are some efficiencies that could be had to bring our numbers down.” 

Specifically, Rocha suggested the current student/teacher ratio should be scrutinized, noting that “smaller [class size] is not always better.”

Referring to his approach as a school committee member, Rocha said, “I am always looking at the money. I am always asking about the money. I’m the minority on the school committee. They don’t always see my point of view. To sit there, and just spend, spend, spend — I have an issue with that.”

Two parties, two forums

Although GOP officials said the forum was open to all, six Democrats and one Independent were not present.  

Their absence was a continuation of a gulf that appeared in 2022, when Democratic and Independent town council candidates participated in a forum sponsored by East Bay Media Group. The Republican candidates skipped that event and held their own instead.

This election cycle will again see two separate forums — Monday’s GOP forum, and another on Thursday, Oct. 17, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Community Center. That event, like the one in 2022, will be hosted by East Bay Media Group (EBMG) and moderated by General Manager Scott Pickering.

It was originally sponsored by the non-partisan League of Women Voters, which withdrew from the event after Rocha confirmed that GOP candidates would not attend. Stepping aside was the only option, a League representative said, as its charter does not allow it to participate in partisan events.

Some who attended Monday’s forum, including Dr. W. Brett McKenzie, a long-time Little Compton resident and former Democratic Town Committee chairman, questioned why it was limited to Republicans.

“The issue that I have is that I see us talking to ourselves, holding up mirrors ... I’m worried about the fracturing of Little Compton and making it as divisive as it is nationally because we do not come together in a forum.”

Valicenti responded, “My understanding when we were [initially] invited, was that it was going to be both.”

“There was space for them and they were invited, and they chose not to come,” said Republican Town Committee Vice Chairman Sal Marinosci, noting later that the Republicans wanted the forum to be held before early voting began, in fairness to voters. 

The discussion continued during questioning of school committee candidates, when Rocha said he had reached out to Travis Auty, his counterpart on the Democratic Town Committee, last October.

“I sent everybody an invitation to come here tonight. This has been going on for about a year. This is not something that was just planned ... I wanted this to be a joint effort between both committees ... that was the goal, so that it would be fair.”

Referencing East Bay Media Group and Pickering, he added, “Quite frankly, we don’t get treated very fairly by the newspaper, and that was the moderator that was there previously.” 

When the forum ended, Auty, who is also chairman of the school committee but is not up for re-election this year, said the Democratic Town Committee was determined to participate in a non-partisan forum.

“We don’t want to be hosting it, and we don’t want the Republicans to be hosting it. We want a fair and just body to be hosting it.”

— With reports by Ted Hayes