ROCKY HILL - As has been rumored for months, former Council candidate Lisa Marotta will return to the election arena-this time as the spearhead to the Republican slate.

       The Republican Town Committee announced its election day roster for both Town Council and Board of Education early last week through an email. Missing from the Council slate are all of the current members-Minority Leader Henry Vasel included.

       When asked a few months ago if he planned to run again, Vasel said that he was undecided, and expressed recently that he is considering running with a third party slate made up of other current Republican councilors.

       So the Republicans have nominated Bryan Addy, Ed Charamut, Allan Greenspan, Andrew Lanciotto and Jeff Levine on the town government side, while sticking with Board of Education incumbents Jenn Allison, Dilip Desai, Bryan Dillon, and Frank Morse. Also running on the Board side is newcomer Kimberly Kehoe.

       Marotta, a local attorney, emerged as an education advocate in recent years-leading a group of Rocky Hill parents and educators with â€�"Stay Invested” in support of the intermediate school project approved in a landslide referendum last November.

       The new building-to reside at the former Moser School property-would accommodate all of the district’s fourth and fifth graders, while eliminating the need for temporary trailer classrooms at West Hill and Stevens Elementary Schools.

       â€�"I am honored by the Republican Town Committee's endorsement and opportunity to offer voters a powerhouse slate of diverse candidates who will bring balance, integrity and accountability back for the people of Rocky Hill,” Marotta said in the RTC’s press release. â€�"Team Rocky Hill will set the benchmark for what it means to be a voice for the people - all the people. Together, we will take the unprecedented step of implementing a new community approach and comprehensive plan to ensure we meet the present and future needs of everyone - residents and business owners alike.”

       Marotta said that she was driven to the RTC this time around by common ground on a number of issues, but declined to go into too many specifics, as the party has yet to release its full platform.

       â€�"I’ve known for a while that I was going to run again, and I’ve been watching both parties very closely,” Marotta said during an interview Monday. â€�"I’ve known a lot of people with the Republican Town Committee-I realized we share the same values and the desire to move Rocky Hill forward.”

       Marotta did say that she’d like tighter budgeting, as well as more diligent planning in that regard, but kept emphasizing what she feels is a need for a more collaborative working relationship between both parties-a sentiment echoed on the Democratic side.

       â€�"I think that’s one of the biggest frustrations-that division,” Marotta said. â€�"We see it in the 5-4 votes. In the inability to hire a Town Manager.”

       When asked if those concerns prompted the RTC to bring in a slate composed entirely of new faces, Chair Jeff Thomen said that â€�"some people had decided to step down”. Vasel himself said last Friday that he and other Republican colleagues on the Council opted not to run-citing disillusionment with the â€�"two party system”-and Thomen stated that the Committee actually got more interest than they had available positions.

       â€�"I think this group has an ability to work with people,” he said. â€�"I don’t look at it so much as is it a new group, but is it the right group-I think we have that.”

       In our July 27 print edition, we incorrectly reported that Marotta’s first run was for Mayor. We apologize for the error.