Projo Politics Blog

The recall election between Rehoboth, Mass. incumbent Selectman Christopher P. Morra Sr. and Gerald V. Schwall is Monday. Polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in all three precincts. The winner will finish the second half of Morra’s three-year term, which began in April 2006.

Monday’s vote is a result of the recall efforts by Reclaim Rehoboth, a group of residents who allege Morra abuses his powers and intimidates and threatens those who disagree with him. The group has backed Schwall, 50, of Lorimar Lane, since last fall.

Morra, 44, of Summer Street, said the abuse is really coming from Schwall’s supporters, some of whom he says are past elected officials who hired their friends and family members and broke the law when it helped their interests. He called Schwall a “wholly owned subsidiary of the old guard” and an “errand boy for the ring leader of the recall.”

Schwall says reform and moving forward is what he is all about.

He said solutions to Rehoboth’s fiscal crisis have been presented to the current Board of Selectmen and they have been ignored. The Finance Committee, which he has been a member of for the last year or so, recommended alternate revenue sources such as setting impact fees for developers and having a gravel tax.

Schwall also said the town should not override the state’s Proposition 2½ tax levy mandate unless “it is an absolute last resort.” He said the elected officials should also work with the legislature to protect those — the elderly and others — who cannot afford their taxes.

Click here to read more about Monday's recall election.

--With reports from Alisha A. Pina
Journal staff writer

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