Comella-Gabaree

JOHNSTON — Two School Committee candidates who see themselves as public watchdogs, looking out for the town’s children and its taxpayers, are rallying support as they head to the Sept. 9 Democratic primary.

Primary season has pitted incumbent Sandra Comella-Gabaree against Joseph W. Rotella, a father who says crowded conditions at his son’s school play helped whet his appetite for service on the School Committee in District 4.

In interviews yesterday, both candidates talked about improving education and guarding against the sort of wasted spending that digs into taxpayers’ wallets and pocketbooks.

An exchange concerning Rotella’s brother-in-law, Town Clerk Vincent Bacarri, also revealed a difference of opinion on the politics of Town Hall and the school system.

When he was invited during the interview to criticize his opponent, Rotella said Comella-Gabaree is a “nice lady” and left it at that.

But the incumbent used the same opportunity to criticize Rotella, pointing out that his brother-in-law, Bacarri, is the town clerk.

Those sorts of connections in local government tend to limit public officials’ independence, said Comella-Gabaree, the committee’s voice of dissent over the past year.

The point was lost on Rotella.

“To me, it seems like she’s grasping at straws to bring up my brother-in-law,” he said, adding that he sees no links between the mayor’s office and the School Committee.

“The School Committee is its own body,” he said.

But Comella-Gabaree said Mayor Joseph M. Polisena’s influence, including his efforts to have municipal and school officials work in unison, has affected the way certain school officials handle business.

“I feel now with the new administration, it seems everything has to be quiet,” she said.

For example, the committee’s chairwoman, Janice Mele, prefers that members ask Supt. Margaret A. Iacovelli about bills prior to the meeting, Comella-Gabaree said.

“They’re doing this now before a meeting so it’s not in a public forum,” she said, adding that Mele often tells her privately about what the mayor wants.

“She’ll say, ‘The mayor doesn’t want this,’ ” Comella-Gabaree said. “ ‘The mayor wants it like this.’ ”

“That’s fine getting along with the mayor and everything, but we are a separate entity to one extent,” she said.

“I’m not going to be a yes person,” she said.

Comella-Gabaree, 53, of 9 Barbato Drive, said she is seeking reelection to what would be her second four-year term because she wants to ensure that students are receiving the programs and materials they need without any excess cost to the taxpayers.

“I would like to accomplish this by having budget workshops and going line by line, through the budget, along with the taxpayers and parents in attendance,” said the FM Global employee.

Rotella, 39, of 27 Colony Drive, enters the fray after serving on various boards and panels, including the town’s wastewater board, the local library trustees, and board of the Federal Hill House Community Center.

Rotella manages the Eco-Depot at the state’s Central Landfill. His resumé lists an associate’s degree in business from Community College of Rhode Island.

He said he decided to run for School Committee when he attended his son’s play at the Early Childhood Center.

It was crowded at the school and someone asked if anyone knew a public official who might take action.

Rotella doesn’t have any immediate plans for building a new ECC, but the occasion highlighted the value of serving on the School Committee.

“It made me get involved,” he said.

On the campaign trail, he said people seem to support the idea of consolidating school operations to save money.

At some point, perhaps as long as 10 years from now, the town’s population of elementary-level students should attend school in one building. Rotella said his son won’t have daily contact at his elementary school with the friends he made at the Early Childhood Center.

Rotella said he supports cost-savings ideas such as posting school manuals online instead of printing them and incurring costs for paper and ink.

“I have a strong voice,” he said. “I think I will be able to make strong decisions based on facts not emotions. I believe I can be a strong candidate.”

“That’s the bottom line,” he said, “I just think that I can do a very good job.”

mreynold@projo.com