by Billy Kepner | Mar 22, 2019 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-5
Statement from City Council Majority Leader Jo-Ann Ryan:
As an Irish-American, I am proud to co-sponsor with my colleague, Majority Whip John J. Igliozzi, an ordinance to recognize March as Irish-American and Italian-American Heritage month in perpetuity.
Providence is home to a diverse population and in honor of St. Patrick’s Day and St. Joseph’s Day, both of which are important cultural holidays that fall in March, I am very pleased to bring this ordinance forward and honored to have it passed by my colleagues.
To read the full ordinance visit the Open Meetings Portal here:
Jo-Ann Ryan, Majority Leader
Providence City Council
Councilwoman – Ward 5
by Billy Kepner | Mar 21, 2019 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-5
I am proud to announce that tonight the Council’s Committee on Finance passed the Retail Plastic Bag Reduction Act that I introduced last year. This initiative is a thoughtful and measured approach to reducing the number of carryout plastic bags distributed and our dependence on them in our communities, and the adverse effects they have on our environment.
Over the past several months I have visited every corner of the city, met with various groups including the Racial and Environmental Justice Committee, Zero Waste Providence, and other community stakeholders to ensure that we get this right. This updated legislation requires an implementation plan within 60 days of passage, along with quarterly progress reports from the City‘s director of the Office of Sustainability, no fee at point of purchase for consumers, and will involve a myriad of community partners to help with implementation, outreach and education.
The ordinance will be sent to the full Council for vote and passage.
To read the full ordinance visit the Open Meetings Portal here: http://bit.ly/plasticspvd
Jo-Ann Ryan, Majority Leader
Providence City Council
Councilwoman – Ward 5
![Providence City Council Elects Shawn Selleck as City Clerk]()
by Billy Kepner | Feb 21, 2019 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-11, Ward-15, Ward-2, Ward-5, Ward-6
(L to R) Katia Lugo, Sheri Petronio, Tina Mastroianni, Deputy Majority Leader Mary Kay Harris, Majority Leader Jo-Ann Ryan, Council President Sabina Matos, City Clerk Shawn Selleck, Antonieta Falconi, Councilwoman Helen Anthony, and Council President Pro Tempore Michael J. Correia
Selleck, a Resident of the West End of Providence,
Was Elected to Serve a Four-Year Term
At tonight’s City Council meeting, Shawn Selleck of Providence was elected to serve as Providence’s City Clerk for the 2019-2022 term.
Selleck previously worked for the Clerk’s Department, as he served there as the open government and civic innovation consultant from 2013 until 2014. During his tenure, he was instrumental in launching the City’s first Open Meetings Portal, and he worked with the City Council to purchase laptop computers so that the legislative body could go as “paperless” as possible. He also implemented a paperless pre-procurement process which resulted in the elimination of thousands of pages of documentation monthly, by utilizing digital approval and workflow technology. Currently, he serves as a project manager in the Department of Information Technology for the State of Rhode Island.
“First and foremost, Lori Hagen has been a tremendous leader and has been an astounding civil servant, and I cannot thank her enough for all the work she has done to keep Providence moving forward. During her tenure she has digitized thousands of documents, provided access to thousands of meetings and other important historical information on the Open Meetings Portal,” stated City Council President Sabina Matos. “As we started this new term, I have been thinking about the future of the City Council, and all its departments, and what that looks like in 2022 when several of us step off the Council and several long-time employees will likely retire. I want to ensure that our incoming Councilors and employees have a steady foundation to build upon, and there is not a ’brain-drain’ of important institutional knowledge. The vision that Shawn expressed to me to transform the Clerk’s Department to become more technologically focused resonated with me and my vision for the future of the departments that the Council oversees.”
The Department of the City Clerk is the official repository for all ordinances, resolutions and official documents related to the government of the City of Providence. The Clerk also is responsible for the authenticity of all legal documents and oversees the Providence City Archives. The Archives houses an extensive collection of manuscripts, printed material, maps, blueprints, and images that span the period from the Colony’s founding in 1636 to the present.
“I’m honored to be elected by the City Council to serve in this important role,” stated newly elected City Clerk Shawn Selleck. “Six years ago, I had the pleasure of working on behalf of the Providence City Council, the Office of the City Clerk and the Office of the Mayor to act on recommendations of the Open Providence Commission for Transparency and Accountability. By leading a modernization effort that included accomplishments with a wide range of complexity, from the simple replacement of cassette tape recorders with digital recording devices to the more challenging implementation of the City’s first Open Meetings Portal, our residents were provided better access to the records of City Hall. I am grateful for this new opportunity to continue that progress, serve the Council and my fellow residents and work with the staff in the Department of the City Clerk.”
Majority Leader Ryan stated, “I am proud of my colleagues on the Council. While change is difficult, it is important that the Clerk’s office keep abreast of state-of-the-art technology to increase transparency and public participation. Mr. Selleck brings a host of technology skills that will enhance the Clerk’s office operations and the Council’s goals for a more open government.” Leader Ryan continued, “The City Clerk’s office by City Charter is the keeper of the City’s Records and Archives. This office needs to communicate with legislators and residents regularly and inform the public of ongoing City-wide business all with the goal of encouraging robust public participation. I thank Ms. Hagen for her exemplary professionalism and her years of service to the City and wish her well.”
Lori Hagen has served the City of Providence for nearly 30 years and has been the City Clerk for the last two terms. Senior Deputy Majority Leader Nicholas J. Narducci Jr. said, “It has been a pleasure to work with Lori for all these years. She has been a consummate professional, and I wish her well in all her future endeavors. I along with my colleagues welcome Shawn, and remind him that he has very big shoes to fill.”
“Shawn will be stepping into a very big role, and we have big plans for him and the future of the Clerk’s Department,” stated City Council President Pro Tempore Michael J. Correia. “I am looking forward to working with him to make the Clerk’s office more engaging and continue serving the people of Providence with a focus on customer service and accessibility. Everyone on this Council and in this office wishes Lori the best as she moves on from this role, and we thank her for her 30-years of service.”
Shawn Selleck lives in the West End neighborhood of Providence with his wife, Antonieta. He begins serving as City Clerk immediately.
by Billy Kepner | Feb 1, 2019 | Council News, Ward-11, Ward-13, Ward-2, Ward-5, Ward-6, Ward-8
Deputy Majority Leader Mary Kay Harris reminds us all to be the best street sweepers we can be at Providence’s 16th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Awards & Hall of Fame Ceremony hosted by Mayor Jorge O. Elorza.
In 1967, Dr. King in a speech to a group of middle school students in Philadelphia stated: “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’”
Congratulations to Shawndell Burney-Speaks, Detective Anthony Roberson, and to the family of the late Laura Rodriguez who live, and lived, in service to others. They each were the best street sweepers Providence has to offer.
by Billy Kepner | Jan 7, 2019 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-5
Providence City Councilwoman Jo-Ann Ryan, Ward Five, was elected by her peers as Majority Leader for the 2019-2023 term.
Majority Leader Ryan was first elected to represent the fifth ward in 2014. During her time on the Council, she has served as the Council’s first Majority Whip and served on the Committee on Finance; Committee on Ordinances; Committee on Public Works; Committee on Public Property; Committee on Urban Redevelopment, Renewal, and Planning; the Special Committee on Women and Healthy Communities; Special Committee on State Legislative Affairs; and is the Chairwoman of the Special Committee on Municipal Operations and Oversight.
“I am humbled to have been chosen by my colleagues to serve in this important role,” stated City Council Majority Leader Jo-Ann Ryan. “I plan to work earnestly with every Council member so that we can serve every neighborhood of Providence. There is much to be done to get our economy on track and to move Providence forward, and I have every confidence in my colleagues that we will meet this endeavor head on.”
Ryan continued, “As a senior manager in the financial industry for over 30-years, I have a unique appreciation and understanding of the financial challenges facing the City. During my tenure on the Council, I have taken on many difficult issues: I have worked to reform the Board of Licenses, I have crafted legislation that addressed student housing, illegal ATVs, and worked tirelessly to encourage new business development.”
As a member of the Committee on Finance Ryan worked to hold the line on borrowing, streamlined operations and delivered a balanced budget which resulted in the City re-establishing its rainy-day fund for the first time in almost a decade. During her tenure on the Council, she has also secured more than $6 million in investments to improve Ward Five neighborhood schools, parks, library and opened the Armand E. Batastini Jr. Recreation Center, the first in Ward Five.
Council Majority Leader Ryan grew up the Elmhurst neighborhood of Providence where she still lives today with her husband, Attorney Thomas Ryan. They have two adult children, Attorney Brendan Ryan, and Megan R. Lynch, MBA, TCRG, both of Providence.
Ryan represents the Elmhurst, Mt. Pleasant, and Manton neighborhoods of Providence.
by Billy Kepner | Jan 2, 2019 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-15, Ward-5
Sabina Matos, Ward 15, the putative incoming City Council President has requested that the January 3, 2019 meeting, which would be the last meeting for the current term be canceled. The new council will be sworn-in on Monday, January 7, 2019 at noon.
It is somewhat unprecedented to hold a January meeting on the eve of ushering in a new class of City Councilors. Matos stated, “Out of deference to the four new members being sworn-in on January 7, 2019, precedent compels the Council to defer taking up new business just days before they are to be sworn-in. The January 3, 2019 agenda includes ratification of long-term multi-year contracts affecting thousands of city employees, and appointments that should be fully vetted. To convene beforehand, would be uncharacteristic, given past practice, to have an outgoing Council deliberate on such important matters.”
The full Providence City Council regularly meets the first and third Thursdays of the month.
Jo-Ann Ryan, Majority Whip, Ward 5 said, “With the swearing-in of the new Council scheduled for Monday, January 7, 2019, a majority of the Council thought it best to wait these few short days, to allow the new members to be seated, before voting on these important matters.”
Ryan continued, “Since the current charter was adopted in 1980, early January meetings being held within a week of a new Council being sworn-in are a rarity. The last time a first Thursday arrived before the first Monday swearing-in was 16 years ago in 2003 and the Council did not meet. Prior to that, it was 1991 and the Council did meet, but it was for a special occasion. Former Mayor Joseph R. Paolino, Jr., who had also served as Council President lost in the Democratic primary for governor the previous September and delivered a farewell address to the body.”
