This is part one of a two-part feature on the candidates for Bristol’s representatives on the school committee. To read part two, click here.

Editor's note: In Adam McGovern's section, we incorrectly identified his title as "the Director of Faculties within the Division of Biology and Medicine at Brown University." It has been corrected to reflect his accurate title, which is Director of Facilities.

With terms expiring for three current members of Bristol’s six representatives on the Bristol Warren Regional School Committee, a field of eight candidates have emerged to fill the void. Of the candidates, only Carly Reich is seeking re-election, as Victor Cabral and Sheila Ellsworth decided not to run in 2022.

All candidates have acquired the requisite number of signatures, and will appear on the ballot for the general election on Nov. 8. Here is a little more about four of the candidates (ordered alphabetically by last name). The remaining candidates will be featured next week.

Jessica Almeida

Born in Warren and a Bristol resident for the past 12 years, Almeida has two children in the district and has been employed within the finance industry for the past 15 years. She has been visible at school committee meetings, often commenting on various issues during the public comment portion.

It is her first time running for office, and said that three major issues regarding the school district convinced her to run for a seat — the teaching of politically biased issues; communication and transparency with parents and guardians; and school safety policies.

Almeida said that the teaching of “politically charged topics” are appropriate in school to an extent, when they are taught at the high school level with a teacher acting as a neutral moderator for constructive discussion. However, she opposes the teaching of such issues to elementary and middle school students.

“By allowing one’s opinion to be pushed on others, as someone once said it becomes a slippery slope for other views, so where is the line?” she said. “I think it is best for educators to not advance political agendas in the classroom.”

On school communication, Almeida said it would be her goal to make parents and guardians more aware of what is going on within their child’s classroom, perhaps through more newsletter communications. She also said it was her goal to encourage more parents to volunteer at school.

On school safety, Almeida said that issues of bullying, drugs and violence needed to be addressed by creating a safer environment within the school buildings where behavioral expectations and consequences for detrimental actions are readily apparent. She also specified one way she would seek to improve school safety.

“At the end of the day, it’s 2022 and the world is a different place and you would rather have additional security than wish you did,” she said. “I would like to see an armed guard or armed police officer at every single school from when the doors open until dismissal.”

Adam McGovern

A native and lifelong Bristolian, McGovern represents a fifth generation of Irish descendants to call the region home. He has two boys in the school district, and works as the Director of Facilities within the Division of Biology and Medicine at Brown University.

Also a first-time candidate, McGovern said that his motivations for running are simple — he is a stakeholder in the district and feels he is aptly qualified for the role.

“I have nieces and nephews in the district, friends and family…I do think when it comes to looking at the job, I am qualified for that,” he said. “I see the school committee as being a senior level academic administrator, that’s essentially what I do at Brown University…Balancing the academic mission versus the financial constraints.”

McGovern said his role requires supporting senior leadership at Brown and helping weigh the many facets involved with making decisions related to the university’s academic mission. He said his training from Roger Williams University as an engineer, too, has developed an ability to make objective, calculated decisions, which he believes fits the role for a non-partisan role such as the school committee.

“For me I think it’s just making administrative decisions and not political decisions. I think I have the training and mindset to do that,” he said. “There’s always going to be social implications to the decisions you make, so you have to be connected to the community as well and be able to take a step back and think, okay, what really is the impact here, before a decision is made.”

McGovern has been involved in the Bristol community for many years, including his role as a Cub Scout leader and a coach for King Phillip Little League, in addition to being a Friend of Mount Hope Farm and a past role on the town’s Economic Development Commission.

“I’m always involved in different things in the community, and I think that helps,” he said. “Knowing you’re going to see all these people in town, it helps in making those decisions.”

Anthony Morettini

A Bristol resident for 30 years and a Riverside native, Morettini has a granddaughter in the district and has two adult children who went through the district as well. His wife was a special education TA for 13 years. Although he said he had thought about running before, this will be his first attempt at elected office.

Now retired, Morettini worked for over 33 years at IBM, beginning in sales and working his way to an executive level where he strived to create partnerships and alliances with software companies all throughout the world, from small startups to multinational household names.

In addition to having “skin in the game,” Morettini said his major motivations for running include his feeling that bad management decisions have been rife within the school committee in recent years.

“I have seen patterns of behavior and of mismanagement, decisions of overreach and a lack of transparency and accountability,” he said. “I’m not a single issue candidate, but the Dr. D thing was an event that pushed me over the edge and made me think there’s been too much lack of accountability and a lack of players staying in their lanes…Part of management is hiring good people and letting them do their jobs.”

On school safety, Morettini touts that he is the only candidate to be named a “Gun Sense Candidate” by the activist group Moms Demand Action.

“The scourge of gun violence, I think I can help with. The Bristol Warren School Committee is not going to stop school violence, but it can ensure kids and parents are safer at home and maybe then safer at school,” he said. “We can help with awareness and education.”

Morettini has a long history of volunteerism in town. He has been on the Conservation Commission for 10 years, and has served on the boards of Linden Place and Save Bristol Harbor. He recalled one year where he helped fundraise several thousands dollars to start a school lunch program.

Morettini said that listening to stakeholders and being transparent in his decision making would be his top priorities to help encourage a more respectful, diverse and rich educational experience for all.

“We’re not a melting pot, we’re a mosaic. That helps us all. Embrace our differences and make sure everyone is included,” he said. “I plan on going out and talking to teachers and students and members of the public…so you’re just not making decisions that are your decisions or have an ideological bend. If I decide to vote one way or another, I’m going to make sure people know why I voted that way.”

William O’Dell

Originally from Newport, O’Dell has been a Bristol resident for 35 years. He had two boys go through the district and graduate from Mt. Hope, and a grandson is now going through elementary school in the district. He has been retired for a little over a year after a 34-year career in the postal service.

O’Dell had been on the school committee for 20 years in the past, and lost in the 2020 election among another crowded field of candidates. O’Dell said that he still has a deep feeling of care for the district, which has inspired him to run again after seeing so much animosity among the committee in recent years.

“I’ve had skin in the game, I got skin in the game and I will have skin in the game,” he said. “When I ran 20 years ago there was a great deal of discord. “We worked hard to build consensus, respect, and venues of communications, to build places we could agree. Now, I’ve seen a school committee that can’t get along with each other, can’t get along with the administration, and people have been jumping ship…I take it personally, I really do.”

O’Dell said that his role on the committee would be to leverage the experience he has from his decades of experience on the board, and act as an active listener to concerns among the stakeholders in the district.

“I’m usually the last person to speak in a debate because I’m busy listening to everyone else,” he said. “You have social agendas, political agendas, and I have to say our agenda is the education of the children, and we have to be working towards that.”

O’Dell said that one thing he would like to see change is how he feels that students are put onto pedestals and deified, which he believes robs them of a chance to see beyond such praise.

“We need to knock that off,” he said. “They need to come to that realization and grasp things that are bigger than themselves, and latch onto those things, because that’s what makes you a better person.”