MATTAPOISETT — “We have returned,” said Paul Criscuolo, chair of the newly formed Mattapoisett Republican Town Committee.

Criscuolo says that he aims to form a “Mattapoisett majority,” among the people of the town. 

Criscuolo, a lifelong republican who has lived in Mattapoisett for a little over three years, said that for him, a Mattapoisett majority looks like a group of people who want good schools, good roads and active participation in government regardless of party affiliation. 

“We all want the same thing here,” said Criscuolo, who went on to say that he would, “work hand in hand with Democrats and unaffiliated voters.”

Currently, the Mattapoisett Republican Town Committee has four members with around 20 people following the committee’s Facebook group, said Criscuolo. 

According to Criscuolo, his biggest challenge has been dealing with the apathy that comes from a town that went without a Republican Committee for years.

He admitted that while the Republican Town Committee is far behind its Democrat counterparts, that he will “make it up with enthusiasm.”

One of his major goals with the Mattapoisett Republican Town Committee, said Criscuolo, is to find and elect capable candidates to positions in local government. 

His efforts with political organizing began in kindergarten, joked Criscuolo, who said that in 1960 he campaigned for Nixon-Lodge in his classroom. 

Before moving to Mattapoisett, Criscuolo lived in Connecticut, where he served as police commissioner for the town of Weston from 2002 to 2007 before moving to North Carolina. He also worked in the spirits industry, he said. 

The Mattapoisett Republican Town Committee’s first event will be a candidates night held on Aug. 30, at 6:00 p.m. at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library.Candidates who are confirmed to attend the event will be Jay MacMahon, running for Massachusetts Attorney General; Sandra Wright, running for Plymouth County Commissioner; and Jeff Swift and Bob McConnell, who are both running for 10th Bristol representative.