Drowning in corruption in Bonnet Shores: Hundreds sign petition. No action by lawmakers.

This is an update to a story RINewsToday did on April 1st – “Drowning in corruption in Bonnet Shores: by Dr. Melissa Jenkins Mangili”.

Drowning in corruption in Bonnet Shores: Dr. Melissa Jenkins Mangili

The latest development is a petition asking for change – to which the group says they have hundreds of signatures, but the RI legislature – as it winds down – has yet to take any action.

THE PETITION:

UPDATE:  Hundreds of Residents and Supporters have petitioned the General Assembly leadership to immediately update or suspend the unconstitutional Charter of the Bonnet Shores Fire District that has allowed a corporation to take over a government entity.

We met with Speaker Shekarchi and the Senate leadership team months ago – in plenty of time to act during the current legislative session.

We provided evidence, including citations from the Secretary of State, a Superior Court order, and two objective legal reviews documenting that the Charter is unconstitutional.

We provided a new Charter, written by a court-appointed Charter Commission and vetted by an attorney and extensive public meetings over a 2-year period.

We provided the legal mechanisms by which they can take action.

We provided detailed information about the impact to residents’ civil rights and evidence of misappropriated resources supposedly allocated for public benefit.

We alerted our local Town Council in Narragansett that residents’ Constitutional Rights are being violated.

We have repeatedly called the offices of Speaker Shekarchi and Senate President Lawson.

As yet, the Charter has not been revised or revoked.

Make no mistake, the Legislature has the power to fix this immediately.

The Legislature can:

1. Immediately and unilaterally amend the Unconstitutional Charter on its own. Of 86 Special Districts, 81 all have exactly the same definition of voter eligibility.  This can be made universal for all 86 Special Districts.
2. Or enact the Charter provided by Carolyn DiLeo, Charter Commission Chair.
3. Or, at the very least, suspend the existing Unconstitutional Charter until a new one is enacted so that a private corporation cannot levy taxes or govern a neighborhood!
4. AND – Order that the Secretary of State and Board of Elections oversee Special District voting policies to ensure that they are Constitutional, free, and fair.  Did you know that there is currently no oversight whatsoever of Special District elections, despite the fact that they have power to imprison, seize property, and manage millions of dollars’ worth of assets held in the public trust?  This is wrong.

We again call for immediate action from the Rhode Island Legislature.  We again ask our Governor and Lieutenant Governor to request action from the Legislature.  We again ask for oversight by the Secretary of State.  Finally, we ask our Federal Representatives to ensure that this matter is attended to at the state level.  If not, we ask for Federal intervention to uphold the Constitutional Rights of all Rhode Islanders living in legislatively defined Special Districts.

This needs to be resolved, and it needs to be resolved now.

Our community is suffering irreparable harm by the Legislature’s refusal to act.

The petition resides on Change.org – you can access it HERE. Currently it has over 313 signatures with a goal of 350.