Coventry Council Seeks Applicants for Vacant Seat

The Coventry Town Council is accepting applications to fill a vacant seat representing District 2, according to a notice posted on the town's website in late July.

Under Coventry's Home Rule Charter, the remaining members of the Town Council have 45 calendar days from the date a vacancy occurs to appoint someone to fill it. The charter also requires the town to advertise the opening publicly and bars the council from considering any applicant until at least seven days have passed since that notice went up — a waiting period meant to give residents time to apply before a decision is made.

Coventry's council has seven members: five elected from individual districts for two-year terms, and two elected at large by voters across the whole town, according to the charter. District 2 is one of the five district-based seats. Anyone appointed to fill the vacancy must be a "qualified elector" from District 2, meaning a registered voter who lives within the district's boundaries, per the charter.

The council has handled a series of vacancies in other districts over roughly the past year and a half. Special elections were held to fill open seats representing Districts 3 and 5 in August 2025 and Districts 4 and 5 again in February, according to Rhode Island Board of Elections records. Those vacancies followed a string of resignations from council members in different districts. It is not clear from the town's notice whether the current District 2 opening is connected to that broader turnover.

Because the current vacancy falls within the charter's 45-day appointment window rather than requiring a special election, the council itself — not voters — will choose who fills the seat. Interested residents are asked to send a resume to Town Clerk Joanne Amitrano at jamitrano@coventryri.gov. Whoever is appointed would serve out the remainder of the current District 2 term, which runs on the same two-year cycle as the other district seats.

Residents who want to weigh in or learn more about the appointment process before the council acts can review the vacancy provisions in Article III of the town charter. The Town Council meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, and any vote on an appointment would take place at one of those public sessions.