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Former Cranston City Councilor Aniece Germain says let the “truth be told” on her resignation
Photo: Aniece Germain FB page
Approximately a week ago, Cranston City Councilor, Aniece Germain abruptly resigned her position on the Democrat majority Council, citing both “Cranston politics” and issues with her non-profit, Hope and Change for Haiti. She posted several public statements regarding what she says led to her resignation. RINewsToday reached out to Germain after a post on Facebook, following a story we did about a month ago with Aniece about Haiti, the desolving situation there, and how Hope and Change for Haiti was moving forward (story at bottom of this article).
Germain’s Facebook post on April 15th.
RINewsToday provided Aniece Germain the opportunity to tell her story – in her own words – about the resignation, about the non-profit, and about allegations that have left rumor and conjecture flowing in Cranston.
We reached out to ask the people she mentioned to provide us their response. Only one person did, and that is provided, after Germain’s statement.
From former Cranston City Councilor Aniece Germain:
“We were aware of the issue [with the non-profit] in August, 2022. There’s nothing new. However, we did not know we can’t file taxes return until taxes fil[ing] season in April, 2023. That is the reason why we suspended all fundraising activities until it [is] resolved. We did not organize any fundraising activities afterwards. It’s the filer who failed to figure out what went wrong with [the] IRS. We are waiting for her. We did nothing wrong.”
When asked what happened that led, specifically to her resignation, Germain wrote:
“The president of the [Cranston City] Council and the Chairwoman of the [Cranston Democratic] Party met with me and assumed that I did something wrong. They gave me an ultimatum whether I resign or she will hold public hearings on the matter to humiliate me and my children. This is an inside job to get me out and put their cronies. Cranston Democrats’ leadership plotted to primary me and because they know they can’t beat me in a primary they use the[se] issues to get me out of the way. I could resist and fight and wait for public hearings but my children are too small to go through this. I did not want to put them [to go] through it so I resigned against my will.”
Editor’s Note: Cranston City Council President is Jessica Marino. Chair of the Cranston Democratic Party is Maria Bucci
Germain was asked to comment about what happened with Hope and Change for Haiti. The non-profit appears to have been a 501 (C) (3) organization, listed with the IRS, but the designation had lapsed several years ago. Her response:
“We suspended all fundraising activities last year. For all these years we never exceed $50,000 in donations, so we are good.” Germain provided copies of past years’ tax returns:
Editor’s Note: Nonprofits raising less than $50,000 have the option of filing a 990 postcard to maintain their status as current, and not a full tax return.
Germain continued:
“What happened right now is the result of old boy politics combined with three women [in] power (Kristen Haroian, Maria Bucci and Jessica Marino) to get me out of the way. I lost to power dynamics, political sabotage, and blackmailing, and the ongoing political maneuvering.”
I hope the truth can come out. It’s true the organization has an issue but I don’t think the President of the Council has the jurisdiction over that matter, or has the power to give me an ultimatum to resign if she did not have an agenda.”
Responses received/not received
RINewsToday reached out to: Jessica Marino, Jesse Dolan, Kristen Haroian and Maria Bucci for comments prior to publication. Only Dolan acknowledged the request, and then responded:
“After hearing significant dissatisfaction with Councilor Germain’s performance on the Council over the last two years, I was considering running for the Ward 2 Council seat. Public service is very important to me, and I believe in representative democracy. With the level of dissatisfaction with the Ward 2 Councilor I had heard voiced by neighbors, city employees, local Democrat, unaffiliated, and Republican voters, I felt it was my duty to run. I’ve considered Aniece and her husband friends for many years now, and I felt it was my responsibility as a friend to reach out to her and ask to discuss before any announcement was made, as you’ll see from the texts I’ve provided. She was unable to meet due to a personal issue and so we communicated via text. Before I could announce my intentions to run publicly, Councilwoman Germain contacted our ward chair and said she wouldn’t run if the ward chair ran and got me not to run. After a lengthy discussion, the ward chair and I agreed that she would run for the ward seat and I would run citywide. My priority is and always has been to help Cranston improve for the future. It is my sincere hope that this is just what I’ll be able to do if elected to the Citywide Council seat. While I am a proud democrat, I will listen to all voters whether they agree or disagree with me, and regardless of party affiliation to ensure I am doing the best job possible for all Cranston residents.”
Dolan’s response included screenshots of text messages with Germain, which we have not published.
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Germain’s statement 2 days ago on “X”:
RINewsToday asked questions of Aniece Germain about her sudden resignation and statements being made about the nonprofit as a follow up to a story we had done in March on Hope and Change for Haiti. We clarified with Germain that she agreed to this as a public statement, to which she replied, “I give you permission to publish all of [this]. Truth be told.”
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This is a developing story.
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Past articles on Cranston City Councilor Aniece Germain – and Hope and Change for Haiti
April 13, 2024:
March 18, 2024: