EAST PROVIDENCE — The appointments of Peter G. Barilla Sr. and Nicholas Oliver as replacements to the East Providence Canvassing Authority were affirmed by the city solicitor’s office following a contested and almost comic 2-0 vote of the City Council at its meeting Tuesday night, May 1.
Because all five members of the body were present and could participate in the discussion there was a legal quorum. Messrs. Barilla and Oliver join Elizabeth Pegg as members of the three-person board.
The appointments passed on a 2-0 line with three abstentions after a lengthy discussion, touching on the stirring controversy about whether or not the current council should remain seated for four years through the election of 2020.
Councilors Jim Briden and Bobby Britto voted for the appointees while Councilors Joe Botelho, Brian Faria and Anna Sousa refrained. The former two cited conflicts over the ongoing legal and institutional review of the matter. Ms. Sousa did not  express a reason for her vote.
As it became apparent of how any potential vote on the appointments was going to proceed, the near comedy came from Councilors Briden and Britto, who needed to exchange seats as a matter of protocol to move them forward.
If the council should sit for four years and if there is a need for a municipal election this fall has ballooned into a contentious issue during the past several weeks.
Over the winter, the existing council authorized City Clerk Kim Casci-Palangio to codify the City Charter to reflect the results of a 2012 ballot referenda item approved by voters changing the length of terms for elected officials from two to four years.
Codification, however, had been held up since 2012 due to supposed inaction by East Providence’s General Assembly delegation as well as city administrators, including the solicitor’s office under former head Tim Chapman, who repeatedly opined to city councils throughout that time the referenda needed state legislative approval. Current solicitor Greg Dias, in his past position as assistant solicitor and once promoted to his position now following Mr. Chapman's ascention to city manager, also offered similar opinions as his predecessor.
Councilman Botelho took up the matter at the beginning of the current session, bringing it to a head in recent months. He asserted the issue was one of “home rule” for East Providence, saying it only needed an affirmative vote of the city’s electorate and codification in the charter to take effect. He along with Councilors Faria and Sousa then demanded the city clerk enshrine the change in the charter, which she shortly did.
The move caused consternation in the public and from announced 2018 municipal candidates. Within the last week, the office of Attorney General Peter Kilmartin and the State Board of Elections have intervened, seeking clarification of the issue. AG Kilmartin filed a petition with the State Supreme Court. The Board of Elections set a May 13 meeting to discuss the situation.
Last Tuesday night, Councilors Botelho and Faria asserted their positions of the matter have been misinterpreted, including by the AG’s office, which claimed in its court filing they along with Councilor Sousa had indicated their intention to serve for four years and thus nullify a 2018 vote.
“There’s been a lot of misinformation about what’s going on here. None of us has either voted or articulated the fact that we have a four-year term. I’ve repeatedly said that this needs to be decided by the appropriate authority or the court of law,” Mr. Botelho said Tuesday. “So all this propaganda that’s been put out there by people with vested interest to hurt people is absolutely insane. So now all of a sudden we have these two appointments to the canvassing authority that just happen to pop up.”
In response, Councilman Britto said under the circumstances, the resignation of former canvassing member Kim Bass and a switch of party affiliation by one-time member Tom Reilly, the changes to the board were necessary.
“That seat needed to be filled regardless of what’s going on,” Mr. Britto said of the timing to replace Mr. Reilly on the canvassing board. “Just like any other appointment or opening we may have.”
Said Mr. Botelho, “Because of the situation I find myself in with this being in front of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General and Board of Elections, I find that I’m in a conflict…I don’t know how any of us involved in this matter can vote on this without a conflict…So I am not touching this with a 10-foot pole until this matter is resolved.”
Mr. Botelho further said he was distressed his name had been besmirched publicly in recent weeks as the term issues came under more scrutiny.
“My name has been dragged through the mud because I made a decision that I felt was right for the people,” he continued, adding wonderment as to why some on the council, like Mr. Britto, hadn’t received such ire.
Mr. Britto responded to Mr. Botelho, saying his name is not being “dragged through the mud” because of his public pronouncement the current council should not be seated for a four-year term.
He continued, “I made a decision that I thought was right for the people. And I aired that decision right here in this very same room. I vote with my heart and what I think is the best thing for the public. When I ran last time, it said a two-year term. There’s no doubt about that.”
Near the end of the discussion, Mr. Faria interjected with his thoughts on the matter, saying, “Nobody on this council has made a decision and has stated there’s not going to be an election. This is all a smoke screen. There was an election stolen…I believe we can’t pick and choose when we’re going to respect the will of the people. But I also didn’t say when this would commence and when this wouldn’t commence.”
He added, “To say that we’re extending our terms is just hurtful. All the issues are political issues. I’m not ready and I cannot support a vote for canvassing.”
The reconstituted canvassing board has a meeting scheduled for Thursday evening, May 3, in 306 of City Hall at 6 p.m.