Purcell Sworn in, New Planner Hired, But Not Without Drama

By Cynthia Drummond for BRVCA
July 21st 2023

RICHMOND – At a special Town Council meeting Friday,

Jessica Purcell was sworn in as the Richmond Chariho School Committee member.

This was the culmination of a six-month effort by Purcell that began last January, when Clay Johnson was appointed to the vacant seat. Purcell, who had received the third highest number of votes, and would have been next in line for the seat, took her case to the Rhode Island Supreme Court.

The Johnson appointment was justified on the grounds that the Chariho Act took precedence over the town charter, giving the council the authority to appoint him.

Purcell’s attorney, Jeffrey Levy, argued that while the Chariho Act does require the Town Council to fill the vacant committee seat, the town charter states that the council should choose the next highest vote-getter; in this case, Purcell.

In an opinion issued on July 18, with one justice dissenting, the court granted Purcell’s petition to fill the seat.

There was a question of whether Purcell could be sworn in on Friday, before the town received the “judgment of ouster” from the court, officially removing Johnson from the seat, but Town Administrator Karen Pinch said she had been told that the town could proceed with Purcell’s swearing-in.

“… a court clerk has advised that there will be no separate “judgment of ouster” coming,” she said.

Levy administered the oath of office.

Clay Johnson’s appointment to the School Committee was supported by council President Mark Trimmer, and councilors Helen Sheehan and Michael Colasante. Both Colasante and Sheehan were in the court room with other Johnson supporters on April 13 during the oral arguments.

However, before the swearing-in ceremony, Colasante told Purcell that he had voted to appoint Johnson because Town Solicitor Karen Ellsworth had told him to do so.

“Jessica, I want to make one comment,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the advice of our solicitor, if the advice of the solicitor was to appoint you, that’s the way we should follow, I would have followed that. I was only going under the guise [sic] of the recommendation of the solicitor. With that being said, there was nothing personal against you.”

It should be noted that Ellsworth did state that the Chariho Act, because it is a state law, does supersede the town charter, however, she advised the council that they should abide by the will of the voters, which would have meant appointing Purcell. Ellsworth also warned that failing to appoint Purcell would result in additional legal expenses that the town would have to pay. So far, the town has been billed about $22,000 by attorney Joseph Larisa, who represented the town, Clay Johnson and the School Committee, and may incur additional attorneys’ fees.

A motion by councilor Samantha Wilcox to appoint Purcell to the school committee received unanimous approval.

New planner approved, but not without drama

The council, with Colasante opposed, voted to hire Talia Jalette to replace Shaun Lacey, who is leaving for another position at the end of the month.

In a July 19 letter to the Town Council, Pinch stated the reasons she and the other members of the hiring committee recommended Jalette for the job.

“An interview committee of Shaun Lacey, Erin Liese, Planning Board Vice-Chair Dan Madnick and I met with Talia on July 13th,” she wrote. “After this interview, we felt comfortable that she would be capable of performing the job and would fit in here in Richmond. Additionally, as a resident of Richmond, we felt that she understood the town dynamics as well or better than anyone. All of this, coupled with Shaun’s professional exposure to her made her our unanimous choice.”

Jalette, the former Senior Planning Clerk, was the planner in Hopkinton for a little over two years, taking the position after the retirement of planner Jim Lamphere. Hopkinton officials said they had received Jalette’s letter of resignation on July 19.

At Friday’s meeting, Sheehan and Colasante said they would have preferred to personally interview Jalette and the other applicants, rather than follow the recommendation of the hiring committee.

“I don’t know who came up with the interview committee of Shaun Lacey and Planning Board Vice Chair Dan Madnick,” Colasante said. “That wasn’t run by the council and if anybody is best qualified to sit in an interview on this council, because I don’t think anybody else here is an employer, I think it would be me, to sit there.”

Colasante asserted, as he has in the past, that hiring and firing is the purview of the council, and proposed that the council meet in executive session to discuss additional information that he said he had gathered.

Trimmer interjected, stating that the town charter gave the Town Administrator authority over personnel.

“We oversee it, but we don’t hire and fire,” he said.

Colasante responded,

“I just don’t know how the Town Hall’s been operating like this for the last 10 years,” he said. “That’s why I ran, to try and straighten some of these things out, because, again, like I said, the ship is going to rocks along the shore, because, we’re the number two tax town in the state and it’s the policies of this town that are bringing that ship to rocks, and…”

Councilor Wilcox broke in,

“Mr. President,” she began, asking Trimmer to intervene.

Colasante continued,

“And I want to see it stopped,” he said.

Colasante’s wife, Kathryn, asked to speak but was denied. The special council meeting did not include a public comment period.

Sheehan continued to complain that the position had been advertised for just two weeks, there had been six applicants and the council was being asked to “rubber stamp” the hiring.

“Obviously, this is a done deal, behind the scenes as usual,” Colasante added.

The vote to hire Jalette was four to one with Colasante opposed. She will begin her new position on Aug. 7, with an annual salary of $67.000.

Colasante, who lost his bid for the council presidency to Trimmer, has continued to challenge Trimmer, Wilcox, and Vice President Richard Nassaney.

At Friday’s meeting he repeated several times that he made his own decisions and did not rely on the opinions of others.

“About deferring to the experts all the time – I don’t relinquish my responsibility as Town Council President,” he said in a clearly audible slip of the tongue. “I come here with a set of experiences and whatnot, and I just don’t defer to the experts.”