Political Cronyism rules under the Charlestown Citizens Alliance

Why does Donna Chambers want to revisit her humiliating performance?

By Robert Yarnall

ZBR Chair Mike Rzewuski tries to explain how the Zoning Board works.
Donna Chambers isn't interested.

This is a reprint of Bob’s Letter to the Westerly Sun which was published in their September 5 print edition, but not the Sun’s public website. It addresses an attack letter by CCA Party appointee and current candidate to the Chariho School Committee Donna Chambers. Chambers’ letter was also published only in the print edition, not the Sun’s public website. Bob Yarnall gave his permission for Progressive Charlestown to publish his original letter.

Clarification is in order with respect to the August 28 Letter to the Sun by Charlestown School Committeeperson Donna Chambers, wife of current Charlestown Zoning Board member Michael Chambers.

Mrs. Chambers identifies me as a member of the Charlestown Charter Review Commission, a supporter of the Democratic Town Committee, and the sole member of the charter review group to “target” exclusively the Zoning Board for term limit restrictions, while ignoring similar considerations for other boards and commissions.

Three years ago I served on the Charlestown Charter Revision Commission with five of my neighbors, including Mrs. Chambers.

We volunteered for the commission in the aftermath of the Whalerock LLC Industrial Wind Turbine Proposal, spurred by our collective concern about zoning decisions that appeared to compromise the quality of life for ordinary citizens living in residential neighborhoods abutting such projects.

We were operating under the premise, later proven false, that a given town’s zoning board rulings were subservient to that town’s Comprehensive Plan.

At our initial Charter Review Commission organizational meeting, Town Solicitor Peter Ruggiero outlined the structure of Charlestown’s government, noting that our Home Rule Charter vested all decision-making power in the Town Council.

All other boards and commissions, Attorney Ruggiero noted, were subservient to the Town Council and functioned in an advisory-only capacity. The only exception, Ruggiero explained, was the Zoning Board, described as a “quasi-judicial” body, operating independently of the town council.

One of the Charter Review Commission’s proposed amendments focused on the concept of term limits for members of boards and commissions, given the town’s experience with what we then believed to be an abuse of power by our zoning board.

Since Ruggiero had explained that the Town Council had veto power over all other boards and commissions, it seemed that the only way to bring some form of oversight to the Zoning Board was to consider term limits, trying to control long term relationships between town officials and land developers. We voted to bring the proposal to the scheduled public hearing as required by our town charter.

At the public hearing for the proposed charter amendments, the term limit discussion was immediately joined by Zoning Board Chair Michael Rzewuski and Vice-chair Raymond Dreczko, who attempted to explain that zoning board decisions were constrained by state law, and were not subservient to any town’s Comprehensive Plan, as we had assumed as we crafted the term limit proposal.

Mr. Rzewuski attempted to support his position by reading from a zoning handbook provided by the state to all local zoning officials. He had barely begun his recitation when he was interrupted in mid-sentence by Mrs. Chambers, who admonished Mr. Rzewuski by blurting, “We don’t care about that!” while pointing at the handbook the Zoning Chair was citing.

There was a collective gasp from the audience, which included members of the Town Council and Planning Commission, members of the Town Democratic Committee and Town Republican Committee, and the Charlestown Citizens Alliance, as well as citizen members of other boards and commissions.

Charter Review Commission Chair Mary O’Connor gaveled the public hearing back to order and allowed the discussion to proceed. Zoning Board members Michael Rzewuski and Raymond Dreczko finished their presentation.

Planning Commission Chair Ruth Platner and Past Town Council President Deborah Carney added some historical perspective to the interactions among the town council, the planning commission, and the zoning board.

Based on the information the Charter Review Commission received at the public hearing, the Charter Review Commission withdrew the term limits proposal.

I sent a letter and made a phone call to both Mr. Rzewuski and Mr. Dreczko, apologizing for my lead role in crafting the term limit proposal.

I felt especially responsible for the debacle since my commission colleagues were relative newcomers to town while I had lived here for three decades. I told them I should have been more thorough in my preparation, and not rashly accepted a faulty premise generated in the emotion of the Whalerock controversy.

Finally, Mrs. Chambers’ characterization of my ” targeting” the zoning board leads to an interesting distinction. While I “targeted” the zoning board as an institutional body, current Charlestown Citizens Alliance Town Councilors Thomas Gentz, Daniel Slattery, and George Tremblay targeted specific zoning board members for removal: William Myers, Richard Frank, and Ronald Crosson.

They were removed in a political cronyism process clearly and concisely described by Economic Improvement Commission Chair Frank Glista in his August 12 Letter to the Sun, which, ironically, prodded Mrs. Chambers to invoke my name during her submission of August 28.

Why Donna Chambers would want to revisit her humiliating incantation at the Charter Review Commission Public Hearing is a mystery. Perhaps her husband, Michael Chambers, who secured a Zoning Board position thanks to the purge of Messrs. Myers, Frank, and Crosson, can enlighten the citizenry.