Lisa Baldelli-Hunt to return as Woonsocket mayor; allies take council majority

Antonia Noori Farzan, The Providence Journal
·2 min read

Lisa Baldelli-Hunt will soon reclaim her old post as mayor of Woonsocket — and looks unlikely to be ousted from office again.

Baldelli-Hunt had been running unopposed for re-election when the Woonsocket City Council made the unusual decision to remove her as mayor in October, so it was virtually guaranteed that she would return to City Hall after mere weeks away.

More significantly, a slate of Baldelli-Hunt's allies won a majority on the City Council on Tuesday night, in a strong show of support from voters that suggests that the contentious relationship between the council and the executive branch should be coming to an end.

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The city council candidates receiving the most votes, in order: Valerie Gonzalez, Scott McGee, Christopher A. Beauchamp, David M. Soucy, Garrett S. Mancieri, Brian J. Thompson, and John F. Ward.

Three of those candidates are incumbents — Gonzalez, Soucy and Ward.

Gonzalez and Soucy have both been allies of Baldelli-Hunt, and voted against impeaching her. Ward was the only council member who voted to oust Baldelli-Hunt who retained a seat on the council. (He had said that he did so reluctantly.)

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Two other council members who had voted to remove Baldelli-Hunt, James C. Cournoyer, and Roger G. Jalette, Sr., lost their bids for re-election. So did Daniel M. Gendron, who had served as council president before Baldelli-Hunt was ousted and is now serving as interim mayor. (Gendron abstained from voting on Baldelli-Hunt's removal due to the conflict of interest.)

Councilwoman Denise Sierra, who filed the complaint seeking Baldelli-Hunt's removal, did not seek re-election. The faction that opposes Baldelli-Hunt had promoted Sierra as a write-in candidate for mayor, but Baldelli-Hunt ultimately won more than 76% of the vote.

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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI Election: Ousted Woonsocket mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt back in office