Rehoboth Election Preview

Voters will decide contests for several town boards and committees when they go to the polls on April 2nd. Polling for all four precincts will be conducted at the Museum Building at Francis Farm from 7 am until 8 pm.

The contest for two open seats on the Board of Selectmen pits incumbent George Solas against two challengers, Richard Panofsky and David Pereira III.

“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 noted.

Panofsky currently chairs the Personnel Board, serves as clerk for both the Zoning Board of Appeals as well as the Board of Human Services and Community Health. "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.”

The contest for two seats on the Dighton-Rehoboth School Committee pits incumbent Katie Ferreira-Aubin against challengers Karen DaSilva and Robert Owens.

“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 said. “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 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 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.

Other races include seats on the Planning Board, Board of Assessors, Water Commission, and Park Commission.