2 seek to lead council

Ladouceur appeals for change, Travis says she has votes for presidency

Posted 12/2/14

There’s going to be an election in January but, so far, there hasn’t been much of a campaign. That is, there hasn’t been much of a public campaign.

As far as Ward 6 Councilwomen Donna Travis …

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2 seek to lead council

Ladouceur appeals for change, Travis says she has votes for presidency

Posted

There’s going to be an election in January but, so far, there hasn’t been much of a campaign. That is, there hasn’t been much of a public campaign.

As far as Ward 6 Councilwomen Donna Travis is concerned, the race is over. She said she has the votes for a second term as City Council president.

“I have six votes. I’m all set. I’m fine,” she said in an interview Saturday.

Ward 5 Councilman Ed Ladouceur, who will be starting his second term, would also like the job. If elected by his peers, he said he would bring change to council operations by running meetings more efficiently and focusing attention on critical aspects of operations that need attention. He listed those as road repairs, schools and overtime costs, especially in the fire department.

“I think we need to change how we look at things,” he said in an interview Friday.

As the owner of StormTite, a window business, Ladouceur said he weathered three recessions and the banking crisis of 1991. He believes the adjustments he made for his business to survive have given him the experience to analyze budgets and question city purchases. He feels those skills and bringing people to the table is what’s needed.

Ladouceur has put out that he would like to be council president. He’s talked to some of his peers and the only new member of the council, Kathleen Usler. He’s not saying how many votes he thinks he has, although, if Travis’ calculations are correct, he would have three, counting his own.

The election of the president follows inaugural ceremonies scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 6, at City Hall. Usually, the jockeying for the presidency has happened by that meeting, with everything but the formal vote counts done.

There have been years where an eleventh hour candidate has emerged to break an apparent deadlock. But with Travis saying she already has six votes, that would not appear to be the case this year. In addition to her own vote, she said she has commitments from Steve Colantuono, R-ward 1; Thomas Chadronet, D-Ward 2; Camille Vella-Wilkinson, D-3, Ulser, D-Ward 7 and Joseph Gallucci, D-Ward 8.

Ladouceur said that Travis was unable to rally the support to override most of the mayor’s veto of budget changes the council made. A majority of the council voted to cut out $1,000 bonuses to city employees and use the $800,000 for road repairs. In vetoing the action, Mayor Scott Avedisian proposed a $5 million road repair bond that never made it onto the November ballot and has yet to gain council endorsement. The council did override the mayor’s veto to give the school department an additional $400,000.

Asked how his leadership would differ from Travis, Ladouceur went back to “basic business principles.” He said he would look to maintain control of the meetings with specific outcomes and objectives.

Would that mean shorter meetings? Council meetings frequently don’t start on time, since the committee meetings that precede it are still in progress. And the meetings, which are scheduled to start at 7, sometimes don’t end until after 11:30.

“I’m not there for a race to get out of the meeting,” said Ladouceur. “We didn’t get elected to hold meetings as fast as we can. We were elected to do business as best we can.”

Travis agrees that some council meetings have been longer than needed, with much of what was said in committee meetings reargued on the council floor. She said she would look to invoke Rule 17 that gives council members the opportunity to comment but not comment on and on. She sees no reason why some members feel compelled to restate their opposition or endorsement of an issue expressed during the committee meeting. Their votes reflect their position, she said.

What she finds especially frustrating is that, after two hours of debate in some cases, the matter gets referred back to committee, meaning a rerun of the debate the following month when it comes back for a vote.

“I’m going to be trying to make it run well,” she vowed.

Ladouceur is troubled by what he sees are inefficiencies and missed opportunities. He would like to hear why fire department overtime is running so high when the staff has been increased, and he is critical of the school department for not consolidating administrative offices as well as schools.

“We need to compress schools and the administration,” he said.

Reminded that, other than setting the budget, the council has no say in school operations, he said the council should use its legislative power to make change. He said he would favor a charter change that would give the administration greater control over school operations. And what is he suggesting?

“Let’s chat and ask how are we going to do this better,” he says.

If Ladouceur doesn’t get the votes as council president, he says it won’t alter his goal to work for those who elected him.

“If it doesn’t happen, I’ll continue to work with Donna,” he added.

Travis is optimistic about her 11th term in office.

“I see a lot of development. It’s a plus for us and it’s really exciting,” she said of the city.

As for her colleagues on the City Council, she said, “I look forward to working with all of them.”

Comments

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  • RoyDempsey

    Ms. Travis, Would you please provide details regarding "a lot of development"? That would be a good sign for all residents, but the last time I looked, the tax base was decreasing. Look forward to your reply.

    Sincerely,

    Roy Dempsey

    Tuesday, December 2, 2014 Report this

  • Unionthug

    I would like an hour in front of the council on December 15th. I would like to discuss the toilet paper the city uses. It is rather rough and hard on the back side. I believe in the future if we don't plan and start using better toilet paper more rectal injuries could occur. As I am not an expert in the manufacture process of toilet paper but I have been studying the trends of past years use. I do consider myself an expert in the use of toilet paper. I would like to educate the public and city council on my knowledge. I WANT AN HOUR BEFORE THE COUNCIL TO DISCUSS. IF CUSHMAN GETS IT I WANT IT.

    Tuesday, December 2, 2014 Report this

  • HerbTokerman

    Donna Travis inhibits the democratic process, suppresses free speech and doesn't belong in public office never mind being the council president.

    If you disagree with her point of view she just tries to change the rules to shut up the opposition rather than having a valid debate on the issues.

    Tuesday, December 2, 2014 Report this

  • bendover

    This woman has made a mockery of presiding over the city council of the second largest city in the State. Nepotism, a complete lack of understanding rules of procedure, the city Charter and book of ordinances should be enough to end her reign. Why has there been no news on the hiring of an auditor without a full council vote? What rules have changed since the Naylor fiasco at public works? I don't know if Mr. Ladouceur has the right stuff to lead but at this point Donald Duck would be an improvement.

    Wednesday, December 3, 2014 Report this

  • FedUp1

    Let me understand this.....we now have Eddie Ladoeceur saying he is for school consolidation. That's not what Eddie was saying when they were attempting to shut Vets down but then again Eddie was for Bob Cushman appearing before the council before he was against it.

    Eddie must have checked with his campaign mgr. and Eddie must have been told to be for school consolidation. I guess you can really take Eddie at his word.

    Wednesday, December 3, 2014 Report this

  • davet1107

    Oh this is just rich! Councilman Ladouceur is "critical of the school department for not consolidating administrative offices as well as schools.". If he had paid attention over the past several years, he'd know that there are not a lot of administrative areas that can be consolidated. Sure there are some but in the grand scheme of things, from a budgetary perspective, they aren't that lucrative and the mandates and strictures for running a school department are very different than those of a city. Funny, he criticized Admin when they were looking to close Gorton and he criticized them again when the proposed consolidating Vets, Aldrich. & Gorton - used the words "social injustice' to be exact. He, and the rest of the Council are cluless as to what goes into running a school district and he, like the rest, demagogue the issue. They criticize them for not consolidating and then they criticize them when they try to consolidate. Classic demagoguery. God forbid if the Charter ever gets changed so that we end up with an appointed School Committee. If you think the schools as they are now are not a draw for people to move here, just wait until the City Council gets their hands on them.

    Wednesday, December 3, 2014 Report this

  • Pmaloneyjr

    Councilwoman Travis Doesn't pay Taxes.

    From Jan 2014: Warwick City Council President behind on paying her taxes

    http://www.abc6.com/story/24485689/warwick-city-council-president-behind-on-paying-her-taxes

    Councilwoman Travis suppresses free speech of the Citizens of Warwick

    A Ban on Signs in the Warwick Beacon 10/6/2011

    http://warwickonline.com/stories/A-ban-on-signs,63468

    and

    "Warwick City Councilwoman Donna Travis has proposed legislation that would abolish our right to free speech in the City of Warwick by no longer permitting citizens the right to display a sign in city council chambers."

    https://www.change.org/p/warwick-city-council-honor-citizens-constitutional-right-to-interact-with-city-leaders

    2 Council members vote against budget analysis by former councilman Cushman. Travis is one of the two. Why?

    http://warwickonline.com/stories/Cushman-to-give-analysis-on-city-finances,97967?category_id=4&content_class=1&town_id=1&sub_type=stories

    In closing, Councilwoman Travis didn't pay taxes and now has a payment plan to catch up, suppresses the free speech of the citizens of Warwick and doesn't want to have information presented to help the council make financial decisions, seems like the perfect person to lead the Council. Sad.

    Wednesday, December 3, 2014 Report this

  • Pmaloneyjr

    Councilwoman Travis Doesn't pay Taxes.

    From Jan 2014: Warwick City Council President behind on paying her taxes

    http://www.abc6.com/story/24485689/warwick-city-council-president-behind-on-paying-her-taxes

    Councilwoman Travis suppresses free speech of the Citizens of Warwick

    A Ban on Signs in the Warwick Beacon 10/6/2011

    http://warwickonline.com/stories/A-ban-on-signs,63468

    and

    "Warwick City Councilwoman Donna Travis has proposed legislation that would abolish our right to free speech in the City of Warwick by no longer permitting citizens the right to display a sign in city council chambers."

    https://www.change.org/p/warwick-city-council-honor-citizens-constitutional-right-to-interact-with-city-leaders

    2 Council members vote against budget analysis by former councilman Cushman. Travis is one of the two. Why?

    http://warwickonline.com/stories/Cushman-to-give-analysis-on-city-finances,97967?category_id=4&content_class=1&town_id=1&sub_type=stories

    In closing, Councilwoman Travis didn't pay taxes and now has a payment plan to catch up, suppresses the free speech of the citizens of Warwick and doesn't want to have information presented to help the council make financial decisions, seems like the perfect person to lead the Council. Sad.

    Wednesday, December 3, 2014 Report this

  • Pmaloneyjr

    I forgot to add this From the Warwick Beacon Article 10/30/14

    "Council meetings are long, repetitive and often argumentative. Much of the meetings are spent going into detail at excruciating length under the guise of due diligence and saving the taxpayers’ money when the city administration, for the most part, has already provided the answers. Council business moves slowly and is frequently used for grandstanding or as a court of inquisition." It continues, "We mention this because it’s obvious that procedures need to change for the council to truly operate in the interests of the citizens."

    http://www.warwickonline.com/stories/Council-endorsements,97486?search_filter=election+endorsements&content_class=1&town_id=1&sub_type=stories

    Wednesday, December 3, 2014 Report this

  • fenceman

    I am particularly embarrassed at the fact that the president of the city council in the second largest city in the state never graduated from elementary school. It is an outrage as well as this individual has been behind on her property taxes since 2004, had to be embarrassed into paying her 2 year delinquent automobile taxes, and frankly, is unable to articulate a single paragraph of correct English. It is a complete embarrassment. How can any reasonable person think that the problems in this city, fiscal or otherwise, can be addressed when you basically have an uneducated moron as the council president, taking her orders from the mayor?

    What's more embarrassing is the fact that people like Wilkinson, and Coluantuano who claim to be educated, also take their marching orders from the mayor and vote to keep this circus fool in the president seat. I hope that the new ward 7 Councilwoman Usler thinks long and hard about her vote for council president as if she makes the wrong move, she will certainly be held accountable.

    Thursday, December 4, 2014 Report this