The two-member Providence Board of Canvassers split on a partisan line Wednesday on whether to accept more information in considering whether state Rep. John Carnevale lives in his Providence district. Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza responded with sharp criticism and said he’d instructed additional witnesses to attend a hearing slated for Thursday afternoon.
Earlier, Board Clerk Renay Brooks Omisore, a Republican, backed votes to subpoena documents sought by the state GOP and to welcome voluntary testimony by the Providence police lieutenant, Richard Fernandes, who said Carnevale asked him to issue him parking tickets at his Providence address. Board Chair Claudia Haugen, a Democrat appointed by former mayor David Cicilline, opposed the efforts. A third position on the board has been vacant since another member, Tomas Avila, left in late May or early June, so the split votes marked a deadlock. (Haugen was re-appointed in March 2015 under the Elorza administration, according to the mayor’s office.)
Elorza lambasted Haugen’s decision.
“I am deeply disappointed with the Chairwoman’s decision to ignore the advice of the City Solicitor’s office and refuse to consider additional evidence about Mr. Carnevale’s voter eligibility,” Elorza said in a statement. “The public deserves a thorough and comprehensive review of the evidence including information that has come to light since the challenge was filed.
Elorza added, “The Chairwoman should reconsider her position and hear this evidence before the Board makes its decision. I am instructing Lt. Richard Fernandes of the Providence Police Department, Public Safety Commissioner Paré, Director of Human Resources Sybil Bailey, and Benefits Specialist Jennifer Wein to attend tomorrow’s meeting prepared to answer questions.”
State GOP Chairman Brandon Bell, who brought a residency complaint against Carnevale, told reporters after the meeting he was disappointed with Haugen.
“It’s extremely unfortunate,” Bell said. “I’m not really sure if she understands the statute fully. The statute allows for broad latitude. This is about finding the truth and if you’re not going to allow documents to come in … This is not a fishing expedition.”
The board’s legal counsel, Deputy City Solicitor Ken Chiaverini, told the panel that it had broad authority in the case and he encouraged the Canvassers to welcome more details.
But Haugen maintained the Board of Canvassers — which may hear from witnesses subpoenaed to appear during another hearing Thursday — has sufficient information. (As of Wednesday’s meeting, the witnesses, tenants of Carnevale’s Providence property, had not yet been served by a constable.)
Haugen declined to say whether she was leaning in a particular direction in deciding the residency case against Carnevale, but said, “He provided about 28 documents with that address” on Barbara Street in Providence. “There was a question about medical information. He provided prescriptions with that address that go back two or three years. So to me, I’m just trying to follow the law. I’m trying to follow the statute.”
A WPRI-TV report raised questions about whether Carnevale lives in a separate property he owns in Johnston, outside his legislative district, and the station also found that city records conflict with part of his earlier testimony.
Top Democrats, including House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello and state Democratic Chairman Joseph McNamara, have withdrawn their backing for Carnevale, a former Providence police officer.
Carnevale declined comment after the Canvassers’ hearing, beyond saying he remains committed to running for a fifth term as a Democratic state rep from Providence.
Carenvale’s lawyer, state Rep. Robert Jacquard (D-Cranston), said the board made the right decisions Wednesday in declining to push for more information. “I don’t think [Haugen] was reluctant, I think she followed the statute. I think the statute was followed perfectly on July 13,” the date of an earlier hearing. “That was the time for witnesses to come forward, if they had any relevant information. None come forward, not even the complainant. There are no witnesses. This is simply a fishing expedition to see what people might say.”
Haugen denied her stance against gathering more information was motivated by politics. “I’m not a political person. I never was,” she said. Asked if she’d spoken about the case with Elorza or House Majority Leader John DeSimone (D-Providence), an ally of Carnevale, Haugen said, “No, I don’t even know those people except through the office of the Board of Canvassers.”
Evan England, Elorza’s spokesman, said the mayor has not discussed the Carnevale case with the board or with DeSimone. England said the next appointee to the Canvassers is slated to be a Democrat, under a city ordinance, and that Elorza is due to receive a list this week of potential appointees from which to choose.
Haugen said she’s paid $30,000 a year as a member of the board. “When I had retired from the state of Rhode Island, a few people, friends of mine …. I came in under the Cicilline administration because of just some family friends that had friends that worked for the City of Providence, they were looking for a top-quality person.”
GOP Chairman Bell said the state Republican Party will appeal to the state Board of Elections if the Canvassers determine Carnevale lives in Providence. He said he was unsure if the GOP would go to the next step — the state Surpreme Court — in the face of decisions favoring Carnevale.
This post has been updated.
