The longest serving member of the Warwick City Council, Donna Travis, announced Tuesday she won’t seek re-election this year, citing her health and that of her husband, Bill.

“Donna takes care of Donna and Donna takes care of Bill, too,” she said in an interview. Alluding to the questionable transfer of Oakland Beach Association property to her that the family maintained for years which became  the subject of a suit,  she said, “I’m not running away from nobody , I have no problem with a fight.”

By the end of her current term, Travis will have served 30 years representing Ward 6, which is largely made up of Oakland Beach and Buttonwoods. Not all her years in office were consecutive. After her first eight years on the council, William Foley, then living in Buttonwoods and now councilman for Ward 1, challenged her. He won by 11 votes in 2000. She came back two years later and hasn’t lost since despite contests from Republicans, Democrats and independents.

“I’ve had some great opponents and some pretty nasty opponents,” she said. She named Debbie Nobel and Rick Robinson as two of the greats and left the nasty ones unnamed.

Travis has worked with Mayors Lincoln Chafee,  Gerald Gibbons, Scott Avedisian, Joseph Solomon and Frank Picozzi, served two terms as City Council President, been a member of every council committee and has lost count of how many times she  has served as president pro tem. She presently holds the post and runs meetings in the absence of president Steve McAllister.

She has fond memories of many of her council colleagues, naming Bruce Place and Joseph Gallucci and entertaining stories about others, especially the late Al Gemma who represented Ward 7. Not bashful about sharing her opinion, Travis asked Gemma “will you stop talking” at one meeting. During a recess, Gemma who was furious challenged Travis “to step outside.” Travis didn’t back away.

“You want to go outside. Well, we’ll go outside and only one of us will come back in and it won’t be you,” she recollected saying. Gemma didn’t say a word the rest of the meeting, she recalled.

Travis has been as feisty over issues concerning her ward. She recalled her battle to replace the bridge on Sea View Drive. Year after year she argued that the bridge was unsafe and should be replaced, but the money was never budgeted. Finally, she reasoned the city had the ability to do the work. Then director of Public Works, David Picozzi, was up to the challenge, although Picozzi and Mayor Avedisian objected to Travis’ naming it “Danger Bridge.” Travis insisted that was the name, proving it when she found a dated post card clearly identifying it as Danger Bridge. The name is inscribed on the bridge today.

Travis loves Ward 6, saying it has everything. She lists two beaches, a city park, restaurants, schools and the handicapped public boat ramp she fought to get.  What incensed her is that quahoggers were being charged to launch their boats and what troubles her now is that kids swim off the ramp although marked no swimming and that jet skiers. Travis goes on to name activities that occur in Ward 6 including National Night Out, cruise nights and until recently July 4 fireworks .

But it’s hardly all perfect.

“They have got to maintain what they build,” she said of the city saying the greenhouse at City Park is falling down and the roads are terrible. Of the federal funds Mayor Picozzi allocated to each ward, Travis earmarked for dugout benches at City Park and expanding and improving the dog park. The only improvement she list for Oakland Beach was a new flagpole.

She said she is still bothered by some of the budgets that came before the council and the perennial tug and pull between the city and schools over funding, observing so much of the budget goes to schools.

Now 75, Travis holds down two jobs. She has worked at the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal for more than two decades and works three days a week at her brother’s business, Don Rodrigues Karate Academy. On her lunch break at the tribunal she returns constituent calls as well as reaches out to city departments to address issues raised by constituents.

She said she will miss many of the people she’s worked with during her public service, then adding she’ll be here and expects to see them anyway.