Continued CCA
control of Charlestown guaranteed by lack of opposition
By
Will Collette
The outcome of November's municipal election in Charlestown is already certain.
The
controlling Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA Party) has a full, endorsed
slate of candidates for Town Council, Planning Commission (a slate that
includes well-respected former Planning Commission member Dr. Lew Johnson) and
Chariho School Committee.
Neither
the Republican nor Democratic Town Committees have come forward with their own endorsed
candidates. Thus, there is only one person running who is not CCA-endorsed.
That’s
Robert Malin running for
Town Council as a Democrat, though not yet endorsed. He had been considering a
run against CCA Party favorite Rep. Blake “Flip” Filippi and sought the
endorsement of Charlestown Democrats in that race. But for some reason, Malin switched his target.
Town curmudgeon and former Council President Jim Mageau had filed declarations to
run as an independent for both the Town Council and as an opponent to Flip
Filippi. However, as of this writing, the state Secretary of State’s website lists Mageau as
having “withdrawn” from both races. By law, he could only have run for one
position anyway.
You
can read about Charlestown’s prospective new rulers HERE as all but one
Council seat belongs to the CCA Party by default.
The
new Town Council will not include its long-time Boss Tom Gentz or its resident
academic George Tremblay.
Gentz
may have decided not to run after his disastrous
attempt to interfere with the non-profit group headed by Jim Mageau that runs
the venerable annual Memorial Day Parade.
Documents
obtained from Charlestown under the state Access to Public Records Act show (see
page 7 of the document) that on May 11, Gentz tried to rescind a $2500 grant the town had made
based on a May 10 e-mail string involving fellow Council members Denise Rhodes
and George Tremblay and copied to Councilors Virginia Lee and Bonnie Van Slyke.
This
apparent violation of the state Open Meetings law – i.e. conducting Council
business via e-mail - appears to have prompted Town Administrator Mark
Stankiewicz to tell Council members not to use e-mail to discuss this issue.
Note that Stankiewicz’s e-mail was sent just a little more than an hour after Gentz’s missive to kill the $2500 payment for the Parade.
Note that Stankiewicz’s e-mail was sent just a little more than an hour after Gentz’s missive to kill the $2500 payment for the Parade.
Sources
tell me that Stankiewicz asserted he could not withhold the check from the
Parade Committee because the grant had been made legally in an open meeting,
whereas the decision to rescind the payment had not.
That
yet untold part of the Memorial Day flap would have been highly problematic for
Boss Gentz had he decided to run for another term.
Boss Gentz has done many controversial things during his tenure, but messing with the revered Memorial Day Parade might have been going too far.
Boss Gentz has done many controversial things during his tenure, but messing with the revered Memorial Day Parade might have been going too far.
His
position would be especially tenuous if his e-mails led to formal complaints
that could run the gamut from Open Meetings Act violations to an attempted
shake-down of the Charlestown Memorial Day Committee – i.e. Gentz’s threat to
withhold town funds unless the committee ousts Mageau.
George
Tremblay’s reasons for not running for re-election are unknown.
Without
Gentz, Tremblay or any other ranking CCA Party leader on the Town Council, it’s
unclear how directions coming out of the secret monthly CCA Steering Committee
meetings will be conveyed to the new CCA Councilors.
I guess they'll have to rely on hand signals from Planning Commissar Ruth Platner who always sits near the front so all the council members can see her. But one thing is for sure: the new CCA Councilors will not be allowed to go rogue.
I guess they'll have to rely on hand signals from Planning Commissar Ruth Platner who always sits near the front so all the council members can see her. But one thing is for sure: the new CCA Councilors will not be allowed to go rogue.
Some
of you may recall that the CCA Party slate in 2006 started thinking for
themselves, leading to the 2008 spectacle of two opposing CCA slates – the 2006
excommunicated CCA slate versus the orthodox CCA slate led by Boss Gentz - battling to a draw.
The
Charlestown Republican Town Committee lists no one to serve on that committee in
the new term that starts January 1, 2017. They also have no candidates in the
field this year. According to their April 13
campaign finance report, they have $370.17 in the bank.
Charlestown
Democrats filed their
regular campaign finance report early on July 1. That report shows cash
on hand of $2003.60. The CDTC has never been able to raise nearly as much as the
CCA Party.
Nine
people filed declarations seeking positions on the 15-member Charlestown
Democratic Town Committee.
The
CDTC Chair John Hamilton has declared his intention to run against Rep. Jim
Langevin in the Democratic Primary even though the CDTC has already endorsed
Langevin.
Hamilton
is challenging Rep. Langevin for the second time. In 2004,
Hamilton declared against Langevin but also against then state
Representative Matt McHugh. Because you can’t run for two offices at once,
Hamilton dropped his challenge to Langevin and went on to defeat by McHugh losing by a 2 to 1 margin.
Hamilton dropped his challenge to Langevin and went on to defeat by McHugh losing by a 2 to 1 margin.
Hamilton will also be going to the National Democratic Convention as a delegate for Bernie Sanders. Under a compromise worked out at the state Democratic Convention, Hamilton will also serve as the vice chair of the state delegation.