VIDEO: East Greenwich Town Council Re-Hires Corrigan, Boisterous Crowd Packs Meeting
Kate Nagle, GoLocal News Editor
VIDEO: East Greenwich Town Council Re-Hires Corrigan, Boisterous Crowd Packs Meeting
McGuirl had made the decision because the council hired Corrigan in a closed meeting, didn't post to the public that it was considering hiring her, and didn’t have a clerk present to record the vote.
Hundreds turned out to oppose the move, including "Engage EG," who prior to the meeting sent out the following. Union members were out in force, including Nation Education Association head Robert Walsh.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"Engaged East Greenwich strongly opposes the reinstatement of Gayle Corrigan as Town Manager. Many residents are concerned about the lack of transparency involved in this process, including the five Open Meeting Act violations that were identified by Superior Court Judge Susan McGuirl. We call on the Town Council to listen to the voices of the hundreds of residents who have protested this decision and immediately open a transparent, participatory process to replace her."
Council President on Record
East Greenwich Town Council President Sue Cienki weighed in following the meeting.
"Really what we did was approve what we had done -- we took the judge's ruling and were serious, we knew there was an error to correct, and move forward," Cienki told GoLocal. "The judge even said you do what you think you should do."
"I think there were some members who wanted to vilify Gayle Corrigan," said Cienki. "She didn't create the problems, she uncovered them. We're not any different than a lot of cities and towns across the country. A lot face financial pressures -- people want change, but change isn't easy."
"I tell people, you elected us to make difficult choices - [otherwise] you get people elected that kick the can down the road. This is a difficult decision -- yes this impacts people's lives, things get taken away," said Cienki.