Meet Governor McKee’s fiscally-irresponsible, anti-democratic Commerce nomination
Carol O’Donnell, by her own admission, broke the law and violated the rights of her low-income tenants. She has demonstrated a disdain for voting rights and democracy. She has wantonly wasted public funds in quixotic defense of ideas that rightly died in the aftermath of the Dorr Rebellion.
May 9, 2023, 1:19 pm
By Steve Ahlquist
Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee announced on Monday that he had selected Carol O’Donnell, businesswoman, landlord, lobbyist and Fire District Chair, as his nominee to serve on the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation Board.
“Carol’s 30 plus year career in the construction industry will be a great asset to the board. I am confident her work in this new role will continue to help make our state’s diverse and growing economy even stronger,” said Governor McKee in a statement.
O’Donnell brings over 34 years of experience in the construction and sales industries wrote the Governor in his press release. She currently serves as President of Emerald Re-Construction LLC, Emmy LLC and CRM Modular Homes, all of Johnston. O’Donnell is also serving her third term as President of the Rhode Island Builders Association, the first woman to hold that position in 75 years.
“It is an honor to be appointed to the board. I am looking forward to participating in the growth and further development of the State of Rhode Island,” said O’Donnell in a statement.
Immediate opposition to the appointment was voiced on Twitter by Dr. Melissa Jenkins Mangili, who took the Bonnet Shores Fire District to court when her voting rights were violated under the leadership of O’Donnell.
Dr. Jenkins Mangili pointed out O’Donnell’s role as Chair of the Bonnet Shores Fire District during a long legal battle regarding voting rights.
Leaders of the Bonnet Shores Fire Districtwent to court battling against the voting rights of non-property owning residents under the leadership of O’Donnell – disenfranchising hundreds of voters – while allowing some out-of-state property owners the opportunity to cast multiple proxy ballots. Uprise RI did a series of pieces about this legal battle:
- June 9, 2021 You must own property to vote in this Rhode Island fire district’s elections
- June 25, 2021 Bonnet Shores Fire District election night: Tradition, Swamp Yankees and archaic voting laws
- January 28, 2022 Judge rules residents need not own property to vote in Bonnet Shores Fire District
- June 3, 2022 Democracy comes to Bonnet Shores Fire District
In her Tweet Dr. Melissa Jenkins Mangili pointed out that under the leadership of Carol O’Donnell, the Bonnet Shores Fire District spent $100k defending he anti-democratic governance structure of the fire district.
O’Donnell is also listed as a moderator on the Rhode Island Coalition of Housing Providers Facebook group, which has no clear mission other than to lobby against legislation that might enhance tenant rights and curb the ongoing and accelerating eviction crisis. It was in this context that O’Donnell was speaking, during a State House committee hearing, about her illegal eviction of tenants.
In 2022 O’Donnell was showcased in an Uprise RI piece admitting to illegally evicting tenants during her testimony before a House Committee. You can watch the video of her comments, with provided context from the Rhode Island Center for Justice‘s Jordan Mickman here:
O’Donnel’s appointment is now in the hands of the Rhode Island Senate for a rubber-stamp approval process. Though the Senate has the constitutional authority to reject such nominations through their power of advice and consent, in practice the Senate has not exercised this power, even when gubernatorial nominations are as egregious as this one.
For instance, the Rhode Island Senate approved the re-appointment of Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) Chair Jennifer Cervenka, despite public testimony calling out her misdeeds, days before the Attorney General took that corrupt organization to court and the CRMC board was effectively terminated.
Carol O’Donnell, by her own admission, broke the law and violated the rights of her low-income tenants. She has demonstrated a disdain for voting rights and democracy. She has wantonly wasted public funds in quixotic defense of ideas that rightly died in the aftermath of the Dorr Rebellion.
The appointment of Carol O’Donnell to the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation Board is a bad idea.
