Over 1,000 Narragansett Residents Call for Voter Recall to be on Town Charter
GoLocalProv News Team
Over 1,000 Narragansett Residents Call for Voter Recall to be on Town Charter
As a result, the recall provision question will be placed on the 2020 ballot.
“Voter recall is a common mechanism in town and city charters across Rhode Island and the country, and the residents of Narragansett deserve this critical tool to hold our Town Council members accountable. There is unfortunately no better example of the need for voter recall than our current Town Council majority of Councilors Mannix, Lawler, and Lema who simply refuse to follow the will of Narragansett voters by allowing our library to move into the Belmont building, as was approved by 68% of town voters in 2016. Not to mention their outrageous vote to cut our library’s budget by more than 50%. This is an affront to democracy, and it’s why we’ve collected so many resident signatures to place the recall charter amendment on the 2020 ballot, where I’m confident it will be approved,” said Win Hames, Chairman of the Narragansett Democratic Party.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTVoter Recall Mechanism
The recall charter amendment petition, put forward by Hames, would allow voting residents to recall an elected official within six months of the last election if 25% of the voting base from the most recent election sign a recall petition.
If recall signatures are approved by the Board of Canvassers, the Town Council would then be required to order an election not more than 75 days after the Board of Canvassers’ approval.
Nancy DeNuccio, President of the Love Your Library Coalition added, “For the past three months we’ve been knocking on doors and talking to residents at community events, and there’s been overwhelming support for a recall provision to be added to our Town Charter. Indeed, the vast majority of the 1,000 plus residents who have signed the petition wish that voter recall was an option right now to recall Councilors Mannix, Lawler, and Lema for their undemocratic actions regarding our library and general disdain for the will of Narragansett voters. Fortunately, in 2020 Narragansett residents will have the choice to add a recall provision to our Town Charter to better hold our elected leaders accountable in the future.”
Latest on Library
As GoLocalProv reported earlier this month, Narragansett Library advocates charged that the current Narragansett Town Council majority — Matthew Mannix, Jill Lawler and Richard Lema — are “spiteful and vindictive” after they voted to slash the budget of the Maury Loontjens Memorial Library by more than 50%.
Advocates claim that the Town’s cut will mean a loss of $181,000 in state matching funds and will likely force the library to furlough employees, reduce library hour, and reduce library services for the residents of Narragansett.
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