BURNS

WEST WARWICK — The list of potential candidates for myriad races here may be more noteworthy for who isn’t on it.

Among the individuals — 25 of them — who filed declarations of candidacy for the Town Council, School Committee or General Assembly, the absence of one name— Daniel T. Burns Jr. — stands out.

Burns, 71, has been a mainstay on the town School Committee for 26 years. After eight terms, he said yesterday, he felt it was time to move on.

“I feel that [after] my days of public service with the School Department, my goals were fulfilled,” he said. “I think there’s room for new life. This is an opportunity for someone else to get involved.”

Burns holds one of the three seats on the School Committee that are up for grabs in November. Four Democrats have filed declarations — raising the possibility of a primary — as have two Republicans.

The Democrats include incumbents Bruce E. Vanasse and James A. Williamson Jr. — both of whom were appointed to fill out unexpired terms and are seeking their first four-year terms — and Vincent D. Bradley and John A. Pettinicchio Jr., who is the town sergeant.

Two Republicans, Christopher Boucher and Lynn M. Ponte, have filed declarations for the board.

Bradley, 85, is a newcomer to West Warwick but he is no political babe in the woods. He formerly lived in East Greenwich, where he served for 20 years on the Town Council followed by four years on the School Committee, until 2006. That year, he ran unsuccessfully for state representative from the community.

On the all-Democrat Town Council, meanwhile, the five incumbents have declared for reelection, but only one of them is guaranteed a free ride. Angelo A. Padula Jr., who won his Ward 1 seat two years ago, faces no opponents from either party.

Fellow freshman member David Gosselin Jr., in Ward 2, isn’t so lucky. He faces a potential primary challenge from former town Building Official Stephen D. Murray, with the winner likely to face Republican Tegan M. Harrington — daughter of GOP Town Committee Chairman David Cerullo — in November.

Murray, who was fired by the council last February, is running on a platform of ridding the town of corruption, pointing to the 2006 arrest of former Economic Development Commission Chairman Robert B. Boyer for bribery and other investigations as fodder. Murray cooperated with state police in an undercover operation that led to the charges against Boyer. Ultimately, under a plea bargain, Boyer pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor ethics violations and was sentenced to limited home confinement.)

Gosselin was the lone dissenter in the council’s later vote to retain Boyer as the town’s representative on the board of the Kent County Water Authority. But, he said at the time, “If he served his time and afterwards there was an open position, I’d vote yes for him.”

The other prospective council matchups in November:

Ward 3 incumbent Edward A. Giroux, the council president, faces Republican Gary W. Trott; Ward 4 incumbent Filomena Gustafson faces Republican Langdon D. Clough, and Ward 5 will see a repeat of last year’s race between council Vice President Peter F. Calci Jr. and Republican challenger Mark E. Bourget.

At the State House, new names — and one familiar one — may give the incumbents a challenge.

Sen. Stephen D. Alves may face a three-way Democratic primary in District 9 against declared challengers Paul P. Caianiello Jr. and Michael J. Pinga.

Likewise, House Speaker William J. Murphy is being challenged in District 26 by Democrat Michael Lombardi, a lawyer.

Rep. Timothy A. Williamson, D-District 25, is running unopposed. (Williamson also is the town solicitor.)

Meanwhile, a GOP primary may be in the offing for the right to challenge Rep. Patricia A. Serpa, D-District 29. Declarations were filed by Republicans Thomas K. Jones, who is making his sixth bid for the legislature, and newcomer Ericka J. Atwell, who has been endorsed by the local party and works as an intern in the governor’s office.

The Democratic Town Committee met Wednesday to vote endorsements. Efforts to reach party spokesmen yesterday were unsuccessful.

tbuford@projo.com