Rocha returns to Little Compton school board following Kinnane exit
Republican Town Committee chairman lost his seat in November election
One month after he lost his seat on the Little Compton School Committee, Republican Michael W. Rocha II is expected to reclaim it this month, following the resignation last week of Republican …
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Rocha returns to Little Compton school board following Kinnane exit
Republican Town Committee chairman lost his seat in November election
One month after he lost his seat on the Little Compton School Committee, Republican Michael W. Rocha II is expected to reclaim it this month, following the resignation last week of Republican committee member Sue Kinnane.
The Little Compton Town Charter calls for vacant seats like Kinnane's to be filled by the highest vote getter to not earn a seat in the previous election. In this case that is Rocha, who also serves as the chairman of the Republican Town Committee. He finished 109 votes behind second place finisher Amy Gleicher, a Democrat, in the two-seat race last month.
The Board of Canvassers is expected to meet at 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6, to certify Rocha as the highest vote getter to not win a seat in the November election. The board's finding will then be transmitted to the Little Compton Town Council for review. If finalized, Rocha will serve the remaining two years of Kinnane's term.
Kinnane announced her resignation in a hand-written letter received by the town clerk last Tuesday, Nov. 26. She wrote that "it is an honor to serve on the school committee and I did not take that responsibility lightly."
"However, due to severe hearing issues, that have not been resolved, and have hindered my ability to hear clearly what is being said at meetings, I feel that I can no longer do my job properly."
Not the first time
This is not the first school committee resignation and subsequent appointment this year.
In September, former committee member Megan Gonzalez, a Democrat, resigned her seat due to an impending move to Tiverton. Following her departure, Mark Gleicher, a Democrat who finished just out of the running in 2022, was appointed to her seat and is currently serving out the remaining two years of her term.
Kinnane's resignation does not alter the 4-1 Democratic majority on the school committee. Assuming it passes the board of canvassers and town council, the resulting makeup will be Democrats Travis Auty, the chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, Mark Gleicher, Susan Chase and Amy Gleicher, and Republican Rocha.
— With reports by Christian Silvia
