Cranston City Council president, city attorney step down amidst rumors of relationship

CRANSTON, R.I. (WLNE)– In a special meeting of the Cranston City Council on Wednesday night, City Council President Jessica Marino and council attorney Stephen Angell resigned amidst rumors that the two are in a relationship.

The Cranston Herald reported on Aug. 27 that some public officials had alleged Marino and Angell were in a personal, romantic relationship and that it could present a conflict of interest.

Marino’s resignation took effect immediately at the end of the meeting, making Council Vice President Daniel Wall the city’s new council president.

Angell will officially step down on Sept. 30, in order to give the city time to transition to a new attorney, he said.

Marino, a Democrat, was first elected to the Council in 2020, and became its first female president in 2023.

Neither Angell nor Marino confirmed the existence of the relationship, and in her speech to the council, Marino said that she was resigning in spite of those spreading the rumors, not because of them.

“I no longer feel the joy that I felt in public service when other elected officials and their staff, who do know better, take on… malicious and vindictive behavior, as opposed to serving the needs of the public and doing what’s in the best interest of the city,” Marino said. “I fail to see how I can make a difference any longer, and most certainly I fail to see the joy in that service. I need to be clear that I have done nothing wrong, and any suggestion otherwise is simply malicious.”

In his resignation letter, Angell said that the conduct of Mayor Ken Hopkins’ administration, which he called a “circus,” had hurt Cranstonians.

“I have seen how doing my job fairly and honestly, interpreting and applying the law, was treated as a threat by those who preferred political parlor games over good governance,” Angell said. “Sadly, what Cranston city government has become under the Hopkins administration is not a place where collaboration and truth prevail. The volume of blatantly false and misleading information funneled to the council, the public and the media from this administration is staggering and deeply concerning.

Those remarks drew the ire of members of the administration, who said that Angell’s resignation was welcome news.

“The unfortunate and disrespectful remarks of the Council Attorney this evening come with no surprise given his unprofessional and divisive behavior,” Anthony Moretti, Hopkins’ Chief of Staff, said in a statement to ABC6. “We compliment him for his resignation as his departure is a very positive step towards restoring integrity to the city council.”

Following Marino’s resignation, the Cranston City Council is now evenly split between parties, with four Democratic councilors and four Republican councilors.

An election to replace Marino on the council has yet to be scheduled. She held one of the city’s three citywide seats.

This story has been updated with comment from Mayor Ken Hopkins’ chief of staff.