School Committee Races Get Complicated in East Greenwich after Resignation

EAST GREENWICH, RI—School Committee races in East Greenwich this November will be a little complicated for voters—and candidates.

That’s because in addition to the three of seven seats up for election, there will be a separate, special election to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of Committee Member David Osborne, who is leaving for a job out of state.

Osborne’s term was set to end in 2018. With more than a year-and-a-half until the end of his term, the Town Council can’t appoint his replacement.

And, because Osborne’s term isn’t ending until 2018, his replacement can’t come from the pool of School Committee candidates running for the three seats with terms that end this year.

At last week’s Town Council Meeting, council members discussed the issue and the consensus was that every effort would be made to ensure the special election falls on Election Day.

Town Council President Michael Isaacs said that the situation “creates an interesting dilemma for potential candidates,” since they will have to decide whether to run for Osborne’s seat, or, one of the three open seats up for grabs in November.

Adding to the complication is the potential for multiple people running for the seat held by Osborne, which would necessitate a primary. And, Isaacs said, that primary might not “line up with primaries for local and state offices” since the special election has a different timeline for candidates to declare their candidacies and obtain signatures.

The state Board of Elections was still finalizing details as of last week and Isaacs said that the schedule should be sorted out fairly soon.

Town Clerk Leigh Botello said the town has 30 days from the vacancy to vote on the date for the special election, according to the town charter.

In the regular School Committee election, seats currently held by Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Mark, Stuart Peterson and Matt Plain are in the running.

Plain will be running for reelection to a seat he won in a separate special election earlier this year after former member Clark Smith resigned to take a job out of state.

Osborne, 46, announced his resignation earlier this month, citing his promotion at Criterion Education to a high-level management position in Washington, D.C.

"It is with great sadness that I have to announce that I will be soon stepping down from the school committee,” he said. “This is a job related change and it’s a project I’ve been working on with my organization for the last year, it’s coming to a close, and I’ve been offered a new position within the organization but because it involves management of the whole organization and operation, I can’t continue to do this in Rhode Island.”

Osborne is the third School Committee member to give up his seat this term, following Smith and former School Committee Deidre Gifford, who also left for a job out of state.

Osborne said he will miss the town and will move later this summer. He noted that it has been a blessing to participate in the school district and send his children to East Greenwich schools.