New Leadership for Richmond Democratic Town Committee

By Cynthia Drummond for BRVCA
January 26th 2024

RICHMOND – The Richmond Democratic Town Committee has a new leader. Chris Kona took over as Chair this week, replacing Joseph Reddish.

A frequent speaker during the public forum segments of recent Town Council meetings, Kona served in the United States Navy and, after his discharge, began a civilian career as a warfare analyst at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Middletown.

Kona said the change in leadership was an orderly one.

 “We discussed it among the committee and sort of as a whole, the committee decided that this is a good shift and it’s not something, I think, that we went through a lot of motions for other than planning, to have the discussion about that in the first place,” he said.

Reddish, who said he had chaired the committee for “four or five years,” said he would remain involved with the committee and added that the change in leadership had been an amicable one.

“We transitioned, which is good,” he said. “I’m still part of the committee and so I’ll still be their conduit to the state capital and so on. The committee will do very well with Chris Kona.”

Reddish said he serves on the boards of several non - profit organizations, leaving him with little free time.

“I sit on five different non-profits and boards,” he said. “… so, I’ve got a lot on my plate. I just don’t have the bandwidth I used to have to be able to do everything I would like to do, perfectly.”

As for his political affiliation, Reddish said he would continue to support the Democrats.

“I’m still engaged fully, but I don’t have the bandwidth to do all the events and all that stuff that I used to be able to do, but I’ll still be a strong voice in the community as far as making sure we do everything the right way and have the right visibility, etcetera,” he said.

Kona and his family have lived in Richmond for ten years, and his two children attend school in the Chariho district.

Kona said he became more involved in town politics in 2022, when Jessica Purcell ran for a seat on the School Committee.

“I became engaged, initially, though some of the discussions a year ago,” he said. “It was really Jess Purcell’s campaign, her campaign to run for School Committee,  and then, about a year ago, when the Town Council had voted against following the procedure of the Chariho Act and to appoint someone else to the School Committee. At that point, I began to track town politics more closely and to look for opportunities where I might be able to help offer my services and be a volunteer to support the town.”

Chairing the committee, Kona, noted, would be a way for him to give more to his town.

“I think this is a good opportunity,” he said. “It presented itself very recently and I’m grateful. I think it makes for a good chance for me to help contribute to making Richmond a better town and making sure that the folks of Richmond are supported in a way that, I think, works with the kind of strengths I can offer.”

Committee Vice Chair Jessica Purcell thanked Reddish for his years of chairing the committee and welcomed Kona to his leadership role.

“The RDTC has voted unanimously for a new Chairperson,” she said in an emailed statement that was also posted on the committee’s Facebook page. “We thank Joe Reddish for his years of leadership and welcome Christopher Kona as our new Chair. Joe Reddish is a collaborative and inclusive leader who understands the need to ‘build a bigger table’ so all voices can be heard. Over the last couple of years, the RDTC has grown its membership as an active group of residents engaged in positive advocacy through volunteer service, town/school meetings, and community events. We support local government that is responsive to the needs of residents and not to ideological agendas or special interests. Joe has shown that a true leader must be a representative first and foremost, and the RDTC is grateful for his continued years of service on the committee and in our town. Joe will continue to be an active member with the RDTC and with many local nonprofits and state organizations. We welcome Chris Kona as our new chair, as he has proven to be an active and vocal leader regarding town and school matters of importance.”

So, What Now?

It is safe to say that Richmond is the most politically divided in recent memory.

“There’s certainly a lot of tension in the town,” Kona said. “I think it remains important that we find ways to make sure the folks in the town are taken care of and that we have government that’s supportive of the residents of Richmond, and so, I’m eager to see what the committee might be able to do to support that.”

With the election looming in November, Kona said the committee was mapping out the party’s local strategy.

“We’re still working through what we’ll do. I’m. not going to talk in depth about all our discussion points,” he said.  “We have upcoming events. I would urge folks to track our activities on the Richmond DTC website, where we post our upcoming fundraisers and community outreach events.”

Kona said he was expecting the upcoming election campaign to be a tough one, but he also noted that more residents were getting involved.

“I think the next year will certainly bring us a lot in terms of challenges,” he said. “I’ve been very excited to see how Richmond has been coalescing and I think that we’re starting to see a lot of commonality among the folks of Richmond, so I’m excited to see the next year starts to evolve as we begin to understand what the folks of Richmond are looking for and what they need and how we can make sure the government’s going to be able to support them for that.”