Rehoboth Candidates Appear in Televised Forum

Candidates for the Board of Selectmen and the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School Committee appeared in a televised forum on Rehoboth Community TV Tuesday. The town election is on April 2. Sue Pimental, the town’s Chief Compliance Officer, served as Moderator.

Richard Panofsky, David Pereira, and incumbent George Solas are running for two open seats on the Board of Selectmen.

“I will always work to get things done,” said Panofsky, the chair of the Personnel Board as well as the clerk for the Zoning Board.  "I'm committing to be there to help with greater visibility, greater transparency, as well as making everything work as well as it can," Panofsky said.

“I’m a very fair person,” said Pereira, who has served as Chairman of the Zoning Board for the past five years. He enlisted in the Marine Corps after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He later served two tours of duty in Iraq. “We need to be honest and open with people,” Pereira said. “The townspeople need to believe and understand and feel that we’re working for them.”

“I’ve always been fiscally responsible,” said Solas, a previous member of the town’s Finance Committee and the School Committee. “My background and experience has enabled me to be proactive and to plan with confidence and success,” Solas added.

Robert Owens, Karen DaSilva, and incumbent Katie Ferreira-Aubin are vying for two open seats on the School Committee.

Owens is employed as a senior biochemist. He is married and has a daughter who attends Palmer River Elementary School. Owens had some harsh criticism for the school administration and the Board of Selectmen for what he believes is their failure to update the Regional School Agreement. “There is a clear agenda to dismantle the school system, driven by a misguided belief that there should be absolute control over the budget and curriculum as they see necessary and just,” Owens explained. “There is a lack of understanding, a refusal to acknowledge how schools operate. It’s obstructionist behavior, it’s detrimental to our children’s future, and it’s time for parents and the community members to take a stand and vote out these incumbents.”

DaSilva has been a member of the PTSA, the Town Fair Committee, and the IT Advisory Committee. She is married and has three children, one of them attended D-R, the other Bristol-Plymouth. One is attending Palmer River Elementary School. DaSilva had expressed her concerns about the state’s new Health Education framework to the school department and was “constantly stonewalled or blocked.” “I’m honest and truthful and promise to work at multiple sides of an issue,” DaSilva said.

Ferreira-Aubin serves as chair of the policy subcommittee. She is married with one daughter and one stepdaughter. She has her own mental health practice. Ferreira-Aubin is proud of the school committee’s “opt-in” approach to health education and noted parents were given a choice. “I’m passionate about parental rights, I’m passionate about mental health and special education,” Ferreira-Aubin said.

Here is the link to the televised forum:
https://www.rehobothtv.org/show/meet-the-candidates-night-03-19-2024/