Paulette Hamilton thanks all of her supporters for their work in winning her the North Smithfield Town Administrator seat during her inauguration speech Monday at North Smithfield High School.  Call Photo/Joseph B. Nadeau

BY JOSEPH B. NADEAU

NORTH SMITHFIELD — An election is held, faces change and yet town government moves on.

That is just how it turned out at North Smithfield High School Monday evening as the town held inauguration ceremonies for newly elected Town Administrator Paulette D. Hamilton, five members of the Town Council, and three members elected to the School Committee.
Hamilton was sworn-in by Secretary of State Frank T. Caprio as the third local woman to become Town Administrator and promised an administration that will keep open government as one of its prime goals.
“The stage has already been set for open communication, there will be transparency in this administration,” Hamilton said during her inauguration address.
“We will communicate through news articles, e-mails, web site and town hall meetings,” she said. “You may not always agree, but you will always understand the reasons for our decisions,” she said.
Hamilton, long active with town school groups, noted she had promoted volunteerism during her successful campaign against incumbent Town Administrator Robert B. Lowe, and said that effort has already begun with residents coming together over the weekend “to
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help restore the beauty of their town hall by polishing brass, painting ceilings and walls and opening the doors for all to feel welcome.”
 She also pointed to her promise to restore pride in the town and planned do a little town hall repair work herself on Tuesday by ascending to the front of the building via a bucket truck to fix the letter A in the building’s Memorial Town Hall sign.
 The letter has been “hanging on for dear life for the past three years,” she said. “And I can think of no better way than to show our residents that we mean what we say. We are poised and ready to work as one, with North Smithfield at the center of it all,” she said.
  In the days ahead, Hamilton said the town needs to hold the line on spending, “scrutinize ways to save, and navigate through this extremely difficult economic uncertainty.”
  “Some of the challenges we face may be daunting, but we have the drive and determination to overcome what lies before us. It will require talking, thinking out of the box, respecting others views and reaching consensus that serves the greater good, not just a few,” she said. The two other local women taking on the role of administrator in the past were Beth Faricy and outgoing Town Council member, Linda Thibault.
 Hamilton’s swearing-in was followed by Caprio issuing the oath of office to the Council’s members, David A. Lovett, Lucien E. Benoit, Steven N. Biron, Paul J. Zwolenski, and Paul M. Leclerc, and three members of the five-member School Committee winning seats on Nov. 4, Robert E. Lafleur, Christine Bonas and Frances R. Johannis.
 The Council and School Committee also held their reorganization meetings on stage before the audience gathered in the high school auditorium.
 Lovett was elected president during a unanimous vote of the panel, and Leclerc voted to be vice president by unanimous action.
   The panel was less in tune in making a decision on the town’s new solicitor as Lovett offered the name of local attorney Richard Nadeau for the post.
 Zwolenski asked for more time in making a decision on the position while noting that the town had received interest from four candidates for the post.
 Lovett indicated an interest on moving forward on a decision Monday with Zwolenski in turn nominating Attorney Patrick J. Doherty for the duty with a second by Leclerc.
 The panel then moved to name Nadeau under a 3 to 2 vote with Leclerc and Zwolenski opposed. Nadeau will replace Attorney Mark Hadden in the solicitor post.
 Leclerc and Zwolenski then nominated Attorney Robert Rossi for the assistant solicitor position but again lost in a 3-2 decision as the panel approved panel newcomer Lucien Benoit’s nomination of William Savastano, a past local solicitor, for that post.
 The School Committee selected Lafleur to continue in his role as panel chairman, and also named Christine A. Bonas as vice chairman and Melissa Flaherty as secretary. Bonas attended the reorganization meeting along with Paul E.Vadenais, who come up for election separately under the panel’s staggered terms.
 State Senator John Tassoni served as master of ceremonies for the evening. School Superintendent Stephen Lindberg and Town Clerk Debra Todd assisted the School Committee and Council in their reorganization meetings. Police Chief Steven Reynolds and Fire Chief Joel Jillson were also on hand as were honor guards from their departments and members of the high school band and chorus.