BY ABBY FOX

Being one of three challengers in this fall’s East Greenwich Town Council election, and the only one not endorsed by a party, Republican Richard Buonauito is already an interesting guy.

Richard Buonauito runs for office

BY ABBY FOX

Being one of three challengers in this fall’s East Greenwich Town Council election, and the only one not endorsed by a party, Republican Richard Buonauito is already an interesting guy.

And he’s also a Taylor Pointe condo resident who wants questions answered about New England Tech, his new next door neighbor on Division, that’s been planning a move from Warwick to East Greenwich, bringing not only a campus, but dormitories, with them.

Unlike councilman Henry Boezi, who, Buonauito said, let New England Tech off too easy in initial discussions, “I’ve been investigating the New England Tech issue right from the get-go,” he said. “I don’t understand the thinking process here. Where are the hard questions?”

Speaking as someone with a “strong business background,” who owns his own business, Alpha Omega Instruments in Cumberland, which manufactures oxygen and carbon dioxide analyzers, “you can’t run a business like that.”

But besides New England Tech, “I’m concerned about the taxes, too,” he said.

Next, he supports the $52 million bond to renovate the middle and high schools. “Our one child is grown-up now, but we do have friends with children in school in East Greenwich and I’m for it,” he said. “We moved here in 1985 because of the school system. If that’s allowed to deteriorate, East Greenwich will become less attractive to residents who put a high premium on schools.” His 29-year-old son, now a naval officer, grew up in East Greenwich.

And third, “I’m a big advocate of the senior center and senior services,” he said. “There is a growing population of seniors.”

Still, Buonauito talked longest about New England Tech’s plans to move to East Greenwich.

“First and foremost, I have a high regard for New England Tech, as a school,” he said. “It’s not an issue with the school itself. I’ve been living here for over 20 years and a lot of people in town I talk to are questioning the process. My attitude is this: if the school comes in, then there shouldn’t be any negative impact, financially or socially. It just has to be done under the right conditions, on a fair and equitable basis.”

The other issue the 61-year-old resident touched on was the water. “I’m an avid boater,” he said. “I’ve always loved the water.”

But, back to New England Tech. “Other than the raw economic picture, you have to look at the social impact,” he said. “What would stop a Hooters from coming in, or a condo complex for college students,” or other “undesirable businesses.”

After New England Tech opens, “what’s going to be opening up downtown?” he asked. “A women’s boutique or a bar? There’s definitely going to be an increase in the number of kids driving, in alcohol and in crime. This isn’t because New England Tech students are inherently bad; it’s that you expect it as an outgrowth of a campus coming here.”

In any case, “with the state cutting back funding, we have to be fiscally responsible for what we’re doing. That’s an issue that’s important to me.”

Buonauito has a background in science and in business management. After growing up in Cranston, he earned a bachelor’s degree in entomology from Texas A & M University, switched gears from academia to serve in the Army National Guard from 1970 to 1975 and worked in the latter 70s in the research and development division of Fram Oil in Pawtucket, managing a lab treating wastewater, in an effort to control water pollution.

From there, Buonauito has spent most of his working life in business: running a Woburn, Mass. based process control instrumentation manufacturer and then in 1990, founded the business he now owns, Alpha Omega Instruments.

Residents know Buonauito from Taylor Pointe, the Stony Lane Baptist Church, as a little league coach and on the waterfront. He ran for Town Council in North Providence in the late 70s but this is his first foray into politics in East Greenwich.

His submitted brief biological sketch said his reason for running is: a concern “that the residents of East Greenwich may not be getting adequate representation and in the process, the overall quality of living in the town may be under compromise.”

Buonauito said, regarding his status as unendorsed, that “hopefully the townspeople will say ‘he’s qualified,’” and that “I’m supporting Bob Bolton [for the General Assembly against Bob Watson] and he’s not endorsed. It doesn’t mean if you aren’t endorsed, you aren’t qualified.”

Republican Steve Gregson, also running for town council, said the republican town committee didn’t endorse him because “nobody on the committee knew who he was. He made no effort to get in touch with us.”

Note: fresh faces Steven Gregson and Michael Kiernan, also Republicans, are being interviewed in future issues, along with incumbents Michael Isaacs, Henry Boezi and Mark Schwager.