Candidates for Little Compton Town Council will talk issues in the first of four local public forums scheduled to run from 6:30 to 8 p.m. this coming Tuesday, Sept. 22, at the Little Compton Community Center.

Residents who have questions for council candidates can submit them at tinyurl.com/LCforum922.

The forum is presented by the non-artisan Newport County League of Women Voters in partnership with East Bay Media Group, Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce, Common Cause Rhode Island, and AARP Rhode Island and Newport This Week.

The event is free and open to all and will be moderated by East Bay Media Group publisher Scott Pickering.

Candidates include:

Travis Auty (D)

Status: Challenger

Service: Current member of the Little Compton School Committee and head of the Democratic Town Committee

Agenda: "In terms of being a good town councilor, I bring my communication skills, collaborative skills, and I’m a cultivator of community relationships. There’s not a single person running I haven’t worked with either personally or professionally. I’m looking for people who want to work together to fix the challenges that Little Compton faces and I think I’d be great at doing that."

Paul Golembeske (R)

Status: Incumbent

Service: Appointed to the Little Compton Town Council earlier this year to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Robert Mushen; previously served from 2002 to 2024

Agenda: "I stand by my original principles of conservation. My biggest fear is water; we live on fractured bedrock, and we don’t have aquifers. We have a reservoir we can’t use unless it's an emergency. I’m also worried about the very good intentions of affordable housing and the pressure it puts on development. As we try to cluster more houses together, we’re putting more strain on the wells."

Andrew Iriarte Moore (D)

Status: Incumbent

Service: Member of the Little Compton Town Council since 2018.

Agenda: “One, continue the work we've been doing for affordability in town; I've been spending the last eight years helping with that. I think we're right on the cusp of showing people in town how we can develop responsible, affordable housing. The second thing is continuing the progress we've made on the financial footing of the town after we had the budget issues last year. We never want to go back to the General Assembly and ask them for an additional raise on the tax level.”

Sal Marinosci (R)

Status: Challenger

Service: Current member of the Little Compton Planning Board and Little Compton Affordable Housing Trust

Agenda: “I'm involved with a lot of committees in the town. I’ve been doing a lot of things; this will give me a say in some of the decisions; that’s the only thing. I’m not running against anybody; there are five positions open and I’m interviewing for one. I get along with all sides and I hope to keep doing it."

Gary Mataronas (R)

Status: Incumbent

Service: Member of the Little Compton Town Council since 2000

Agenda: "I want to try to keep Little Compton small and try to help the people who grew up here in Little Compton. It used to be ‘Keep Little Compton small,’ but I think that’s gone by the wayside unfortunately; too many people found out how beautiful it is, and when they buy houses, they stay here. It kind of pushes people out because of the lack of affordability. Affordability is my thing."

Patrick McHugh (D)

Status: Incumbent

Service: Member of the Little Compton Town Council since 2022, serving as president since 2024

Agenda: "Continuing to direct the town's financial recovery with highly qualified professionals, regular reporting and compliance. That’s a big deal for me. The second one is to support a wider range of housing choices that meet the needs of residents at every stage of life and promote technology that advances throughout our facilities and operations while improving security information; that’s important to us. We came in here with a financial disaster that we had to dig out from under and we dug out from under and we want to continue that."

Michael Rocha (R)

Status: Challenger

Service: Current member of the Little Compton School Committee and head of the Republican Town Committee

Agenda: "I’m vested in this town, I grew up here and continue raising my family here. I have served in many capacities for the town. Currently, I’ve been serving on the school committee since 2020. It’s time to continue my community service in a new capacity by serving on the town council. We need leadership that is going to represent what is best for the people of the town."

Victoria Talbot (D)

Status: Incumbent

Service: Member of the Little Compton Town Council since 2024

Agenda: "My top thing is continuing to direct the town's financial recovery and professionalizing operations at town hall with regular reporting and compliance. Another big thing is continuing to improve transparency and communication with the LC Download and improving our town website with regular communications."