Town GOP tries to find new life

SALISBURY - Its been a tumultuous couple of years, but it looks like the Salisbury Republican Town Committee is on the mend.

After a Jan. 9 caucus, the committee appointed several new members, including a few political conservatives who had resigned in 2005. Back are Alfred Nemiroff and Vivian Nasiatka, who left the committee in the wake of a noisy schism that saw the liberal-to-moderate faction, led by Doug Richardson and Peter Oliver, prevail in a fight over mostly national issues.

"It's an extremely good mix of every spectrum of the party you could hope for, said Michael Flint, a self-styled conservative who is acting vice chair of the committee until new officers can be elected in March.

The committee will have almost all of its 23 seats filled. Two years ago, 16 of those seats were unfilled. Flint said the committee hopes to "rebirth itself" and "and to do it with unity among all factions of the party."

Richardson and Oliver remain along with their minority ally on the Board of Selectmen, Bob Riva. And there are newcomers such as Thomas Haines, Pari Forood, Dana Scarpa and Rod Lankler.

It has been a rough several months for the Republican Town Committee. The mishandling of candidate slates and petitions last fall by the committee resulted in all the GOP candidates losing their spots on the ballot. That forced the Republicans to run as write-in candidates in the municipal election.

Nemiroff, who served previously as vice chair of the committee, said in an interview that he has been asked to return to the committee before.

"I will lend whatever modest support I can," Nemiroff said.