DUARTE

SOMERSET — You can’t say that the race for a seat on the Playground and Recreation Commission hasn’t drawn an interesting cast of characters this year.

There’s the incumbent who got into trouble for taking scrap metal from the town, but insists he did nothing wrong; the challenger who used to work for the Recreation Department as a youth and vehemently denies allegations that he took food and a CD player while on the job; and another challenger who reported yesterday that he was in court for an assault case a few years ago in a case that is now closed, without any verdict.

In all, four men are vying for the seat, which carries a 5-year term. The winner will be decided when voters go to the polls Monday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The incumbent is Raymond Frizado, a coach with a straight-talking manner who retired in January from the Highway Department after 37 years with the town.

Last year, after two department workers got in trouble for taking scrap metal from the department complex, Frizado contacted a supervisor to say he had also removed scrap metal from the Dumpster, according to a police report. No charges were ever filed. Town officials have refused to disclose if he was punished, saying it’s a confidential personnel matter.

But Frizado reported in an interview last week that he was suspended for three days as a result, discipline he characterizes as unfair because it was a longstanding practice at the department to take stuff nobody wanted. Otherwise, the town would have to pay to have it removed.

He said there was no policy forbidding that. “If they had a policy that was in place, I’d follow it. There was no policy. I’m not going to risk my job for that,” he said. “I can prove there was never a policy.”

The incident “was blown out of proportion,” he said. “I was the scapegoat.”

Frizado said he continues to be the best candidate for the post, having been first elected to the commission in 2003. “I worked hard for it. Being retired now, I get more time. My biggest thing is to get jobs for the college kids, the high school kids.”

He and his colleagues at the Highway Department, he said, have also donated a lot of their time for the town.

Frizado said he coached girls Little League for 12 years, then the coed league for another 4 or 5 years.

He said he didn’t show up for either of the candidate nights because, in one case, there was an illness in the family, but also because “a lot of it is a bunch of bull.”

“It’s awful easy telling the truth,” he said. “I tell it like it is.”

Accusations of theft have also been leveled again another candidate, Zachary Powers-Alves, as part of a backlash over the licensure of an afterschool program run by the Recreation Department.

His inquiry to the state about the availability of recreation grants led to the discovery that the program was not licensed. There’s been talk of shutting down the program because commissioners say the licensing requirements are cumbersome and costly.

Powers-Alves has offered to do the paperwork for the town to keep the program going and raise money or the licensing fee.

But Playground and Recreation Commission Chairman James Pereira reacted by accusing Powers-Alves of playing politics with a program, alleging that he was fired in 2004 after being accused of theft, particularly of taking food and a CD player from the Chace Street School, where the program is based.

But no charges were ever filed. Powers-Alves says he is paying the price when it’s the commission’s fault for not having a licensed program. He contends that he quit and was not fired, and vehemently denies any accusation of theft, adding that town officials have no right to discuss anything in his personnel file.

He declined a Journal request for permission to look at that file.

Powers-Alves said the accusations have unfairly detracted from all the positive things he has done. He did not return a written form from The Journal seeking biographical information.

As part of his campaign, he has asserted that the Recreation Department “is judged by its employees, as well as by townspeople, as unorganized and unmotivated.”

As for the afterschool program, “the bottom line is, they’ve been running it illegally,” he said.

Like Powers-Alves, Jeffrey Thompson has also been visible around town.

Thompson coordinated a recent cleanup of Pierce Beach and says he “pretty much coordinated” last year’s soapbox derby as part of the Spirit of Somerset celebration.

He has been a girls softball coach and minor league director, as well as a mentor for the Big Brothers Association of Fall River.

When he filled out a Journal questionnaire that routinely asks candidates if they have ever been arrested, he said he had received a court summons a few years ago as the result of an incident at Seekonk Speedway in which two suspicious people were in a car examining and photographing the vehicle of his father, who had just been released from a local hospital.

As Thompson tells it, he approached the vehicle from behind, reached inside, grabbed the camera without touching anyone, and brought it to a police officer stationed at the scene so he could find out what was going on. One turned out to be a private detective investigating an insurance claim; he was accused of assault.

He said his case was continued without a finding for one year, which means that the case has now been dropped because he has stayed out of trouble.

Thompson frequents the speedway because he spent 25 years as a racer, ever since he was a youth. He said he retired from that three years ago. His real job is as a fuel truck driver for K.R. Rezendes Construction in Assonet, Mass.

Thompson said his ability to get things done is one reason he would be good for the job. With finances tight, “we’re trying to get more of a volunteer effort to do things on a regular basis,” he said. He would also like to see the soapbox derby expanded this fall.

He wants to formalize the volunteer system and subsidize programs through concessions sponsored by the Recreation Department, a public auction and small per-car donation for some events.

The fourth candidate in the race is Joseph Duarte.

A hoist engineer for Dominion Energy, he says his life experiences “will allow me to be an asset to Somerset by bringing a fresh approach to how our town facilities can better meet the needs of our children and families.”

As a commissioner, he said, “I would probably show up more to the functions and places where the kids are at. [Commission members] should be out with the public more, see what the kids need.”

Duarte said Powers-Alves “says he is going to get grants, but the federal government isn’t giving the state grants and the state isn’t given the town money. You can’t tell taxpayers, ‘I’m going to put up a $30,000 swing set.’ Now is not the time. People are losing their houses.”

He said yesterday there should be more of a focus on “easy maintenance.”

“The tables need to be done, there are swears all over them,” Duarte said. “They need easy maintenance until the economy gets back on its feet.”Playground and Recreation Commission Candidates

JOSEPH DUARTE

150 Compos St.

(508) 989-9260

jduart524@verizon.net

Occupation: Hoist engineer, Dominion Energy

Education: Warren High School (1991 graduate)

Personal: Born 1972 in Providence; moved to town in 1996; married, three children.

Quote: I feel my life experiences will allow me to be an asset to Somerset by bringing a fresh approach to how our town facilities can better meet the needs of our children and families. Fiscal responsibility will be the key. Although I am in favor of expanding the offerings at our facilities, I fully realize this must be done without increasing the commission’s budget in these fiscally tight times we are living in. I would explore the concept of getting new equipment through civic and business partnership so that there would be little or no cost to taxpayers.

RAYMOND FRIZADO

Incumbent

1229 Read St.

(508) 678-4088

Occupation: Retired Highway Department worker.

Personal: Born 1945 in Taunton, Mass.; moved to town in 1968; widowed with two children.

Quote: Of the many projects that I have been involved in as a member of the board, I voted for a new outdoor stage at Pierce’s Beach for our concert series; a new snack shack at Pierce’s Beach; installed 600 cubic yards of sand to the beach area; lighting for the sledding area; a new shack at the entrance to Pierce’s Beach; installing a new playground area for the children at Pierce’s Beach (the first in 20-odd years) and filing an application for a state grant to install a new skating area at the Water Treatment Plant.

ZACHARY POWERS-ALVES

25 Hathaway Rd.

Questionnaire not returned

JEFFREY THOMPSON

170 North St.

(508) 328-6255

jfuelee@aol.com

Occupation: Fuel truck driver and shop steward, K.R. Rezendes Construction, Assonet, Mass.

Education: Somerset High School (1980 graduate)

Personal: Born 1961 in Fall River; moved into town in 1973; married, two children.

Quote: I am proposing that we look at innovative ways to bring more community dollars into the recreation budget and subsidize these programs and reduce the burden on your families, especially in today’s economic times. We need to make activities more affordable. We currently have a healthy volunteer support system here in Somerset. Our local businesses also do their part, donating dollars, supplies, materials and equipment. I am proposing a more formal system around how we solicit volunteers and approach local businesses. I want to increase awareness of various programs available and challenge the citizens of Somerset to become more involved.

gemery@projo.com