Woonsocket City Council votes to hire outside counsel to investigate mayor

WOONSOCKET, R.I. (WLNE) — The Woonsocket City Council voted unanimously to hire outside counsel to investigate Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt during an emergency meeting Monday. The vote was in favor of hiring legal counsel to represent Denise Sierra, the council member who brought these allegations to light, in the Rhode Island Supreme Court.

Earlier this month, City Councilor Denise Sierra filed a complaint against the mayor.

The complaint was made up of nine different charges where Sierra said that Baldelli-Hunt violated her duties by not submitting monthly financial reports and “willfully” violating the code of ordinances in providing health insurance to an employee who is not full-time.

“This meeting allowed for representation specifically for me,” Sierra said speaking to ABC 6 News following the emergency meetings conclusion. “Separate from the council.”

Baldelli-Hunt released a statement earlier this month in response to the complaint filed by Sierra, saying, “Denise Sierra has been a six-year council person who has basically brought nothing to the city of Woonsocket. She thrives on controversy and this is another example of her poor leadership as she leaves the city. This is very typical of her in an election year and it is not the first time she and several other councilors have done things such as this. Very shameful.”

When asked if her intentions are to remove Baldelli-Hunt from office, councilwoman Sierra said that is for the people to decide.

“That’s not my choice. There are 43,000 people in this city that will make that choice, I can’t make it for them. I can only bring them what I know, and they can make an educated decision from that point,” Denise Sierra said.

The day after the complaint was filed, City Council President Daniel Gendron confirmed to ABC 6 News that he received it, saying, “I received a copy of the Complaint yesterday (Tuesday, September 6). I have read through it and believe it is compelling and speaks for itself. That said, I am reserving judgment until we have the hearing and the mayor is afforded an opportunity to respond. I will respect the process and we will see where it leads us.”

The agenda for Monday’s meeting read that the City Council will vote on hiring outside help to investigate the complaint.

The Rhode Island Senate motioned last week on the complaint to remove Baldelli-Hunt and now the matter will be heard Thursday see if the petition can move forward.

A meeting was scheduled for last week, but the Supreme Court put a halt on the vote.