REHOBOTH - The Committee to Reclaim Rehoboth has announced finance committee member Gerald Schwall is the group's candidate to replace Selectman Christopher Morra in a planned recall election.

Schwall is also part of a financial advisory group to the regional school district, and has lived in town for a decade.

"Mr. Schwall is dedicated to providing the type of leadership our town so desparately needs," said Rob Davis, chairman of the political action committee formed last week to seek the recall. "Through his work with the finance committee and the school district, Gerry has demonstrated his desire to work in conjunction with others to find reasonable solutions to the very difficult problems that confront our town."

Schwall said he "took a long, hard look" at the reasons for the recall initiative before accepting the committee's nomination.

"After an independent review of the firsthand accounts from the residents, volunteers, and town employees who have been affected by Mr. Morra's behavior while in office, I am completely convinced that his actions are of such an egregious nature as to demand a recall. "Rehoboth cannot afford the consequences of Morra's repeated attempts to impose his will, unilaterally, on the people. Collectively, we need to be focused on finding solutions to some very complex problems and not on personal agendas and vendettas."

Schwall was one of the finance committee members who resigned in June in protest of the decision by Morra and Selectman Stephen Martin not to reappoint member Elizabeth Doyle. All were later reappointed.

Morra, who has been in office just 15 months, calls the recall an attempt by former town officials to restore their power in local government. Morra said he has been doing nothing but working in the best interests of the town and its residents, and said he hopes the opposition would decide not to expend its time and energy on an election he insists residents don't want.