ROCKY HILL - The Democratic Town Committed nominated a mix of incumbents and newcomers last Thursday night, adding Christopher Duff and Mukesh Desai to the Claudia Baio led Town Council slate.

       Seeking reelection on the Council side are Deputy Mayor Joe Kochanek, John Emmanuel, and William O’Sullivan. Missing from the lineup is current Councilor Tony La Rosa.

       The Board of Education slate is made largely of incumbents-Laurie Boske, Barry Goldberg, Maria Mennella, and Rene "Skip" Rivard-with the addition of Judi Murphy.

       Baio-seeking her second mayoral term-is challenged by Lisa Marotta, a local attorney and education activist who ran for Town Council four years ago as the first independent candidate in two decades. As the mayoral nominee for the Republican Town Committee, she leads a Council slate that includes Bryan Addy, Ed Charamut, Allan Greenspan, Andrew Lanciotto and Jeff Levine.

       Among Baio’s stated priorities is the completion of the intermediate school project-a sentiment sure to be echoed by Marotta, whose Stay Invested political action committee staunchly supported it through last November’s referendum.

       The project will redevelop the former Moser school site into a facility to accommodate the district’s fourth and fifth graders and alleviate overcrowding at the elementary level.

       There’s also the still vacant Town Manager role-filled for now by Finance Director John Mehr, who would have been hired several months ago had it not been for a dispute regarding language in the Town Charter. Baio said that she intends to see that through as well, and the search committee is making progress-they’ve narrowed a list of prospective recruiting consultants down to two finalists.

       Baio also has her sights set on the Rocky Hill Senior Center and the long sought renovation/expansion project-in its early stages now with consultants walking the Council’s subcommittee through their options while recommending a Community Center approach for the purpose of creating appeal across age demographics.

       Baio said during a campaign launch event held the week before that she is also aiming to continue efforts to preserve open space.