City official’s car tells you what he really thinks about Woonsocket
Zoning Board member criticized for window sticker using vulgar language to describe city
WOONSOCKET – Ask anyone who knows him and they’ll tell you Roland Michaud is a man of strong opinions – and he isn’t afraid to share them – even if his views aren’t particularly popular.
But some think Michaud, who serves on the Zoning Board of Review, crossed a line when he pasted a sticker to the rear windshield of his Subaru Outback that says, “Welcome to Woonsocket – a Real Sh*t Hole.”
As an appointed official, Michaud should refrain from advancing such unflattering notions about the city, Mayor Baldelli-Hunt says.
“This is an embarrassment to the city of Woonsocket,” said the mayor. “It’s unprofessional. Personally, if I were a city councilperson I would be looking into ways of removing him from the zoning board and replacing him with someone who has more respect for our city.”
Reached for comment about the sticker, Michaud said he put it there because it’s an accurate reflection of his views.
“I think Woonsocket’s failed,” he said. “It’s not a good place. It’s not run well.”
Furthermore, says Michaud, “I have the right to free speech.” Michaud says his views have nothing do to with his performance as a zoning board member or his role as a city official. “I do my job.”
Michaud’s term on the zoning board ends in March 2018, when the City Council must decide whether to reappoint him of find someone else. Baldelli-Hunt says the council shouldn’t wait – members should consider exploring legal avenues of cutting his tenure short, she argues.
“He’s unfit to serve on any board,” the mayor says. For the record, the hostilities are more or less mutual: Michaud berates Baldelli-Hunt as a “fraud and a loser.”
“The incompetent person in City Hall is on the fourth floor,” he says.
Will there be repercussions for Michaud from the council?
Not likely, based on the ho-hum reactions to Michaud’s civic putdown from several members of the reigning majority. Council President Dan Gendron seemed incredulous that Michaud would do such a thing and declined to discuss it without firm confirmation that he had.
“It could be fabrication out of thin air,” he said.
Council Vice President Jon Brien said he doesn’t know whether Michaud thinks he’s being humorous or serious. “I can’t speak to his intent,” said Brien, a lawyer. But as Michaud himself insists, Brien says Michaud has a right to his opinions.
“I’m not going to speak to someone’s right to expression and free speech, if that’s what he wants to do, it’s up to him,” said Brien. “I may not like what he has to say, but he sure has the right to say it.”
Councilman James Cournoyer said the administration had employed a double-standard in calling out Michaud. Last year, he said, former zoning board alternate Richard Fagnant – now a member of the council – faced a similar outcry after posting images to Facebook that some said expressed intolerance toward the Muslim faith and support for deadly violence against President Obama. The latter was investigated by the Secret Service.
“I stood before the council and asked them to do the same thing with Mr. Fagnant and the administration… did nothing,” said Cournoyer, who wasn’t a councilman then.
The council is the appointing authority for full members of the zoning board, while the mayor’s appointive power is limited to choosing two “alternate” members who serve as sort of backups to full members. Scott Maclennan, a microbiologist who works in quality control for CVS Health, and Paul Pierannunzi, a finance professional, currently serve as alternates at the pleasure of the mayor.
An investment property owner, Michaud, 67, is no stranger to local government. His stint in city affairs dates back at least to the administration of former Mayor Susan D. Menard, who appointed him to the Personnel Board. He is also one of the founding members of the nowdefunct Woonsocket Taxpayers Coalition, which was formed to advocate for small government and conservative spending policies.
His affiliation with the latter group accounts for a second windshield sticker on Michaud’s Outback: “It’s the SPENDING, stu- pid.”
Michaud also ran for council in the 2016 election cycle and finished second-to-last in a field of 15 candidates. Rather than trigger a primary to pare the list down to 14, Michaud stepped aside.
He was also in the news several years ago when the city agreed to pay him $390,000 for a parcel of land off Jillson Avenue as the site for a new water treatment plant. One of the first things BaldelliHunt did when she was elected mayor in 2013 was review the sale.
Michaud said the windshield sticker some find so objectionable has been displayed in the rear windshield of his car at least since he ran in the council primary.
One factor that may have pushed it to the forefront of attention is the still-simmering controversy over two decisions the zoning board made last month. Michaud was among three members of the panel who voted against a variance for a developer seeking to build 20 “microloft” apartments in an existing structure on North Main Street. He also voted against another developer’s petition to convert vacant properties on Avenue C into an over-55 housing complex.
Michaud says he’s heard the for- mer could result in litigation against the city – which is why he can’t talk about it.
Baldelli-Hunt and others seem confounded by both votes, which she calls the latest examples of the zoning board’s unwelcoming posture to outside investment.
Abutters in both neighborhoods are anxious to see improvements, but zoners have left them frustrated, the mayor says.
“He has upset a lot of neighbors in the Avenue C area, he’s upset neighbors and business owners in the North Main Street area, and he’s upset taxpayers who are sick and tired of our city being suppressed due to actions such as these,” the mayor said.
This is the second turf battle of the week over appointees to local boards and commission. On Tuesday, members of the council blocked Baldelli-Hunt from appointing Matt Wilson to the Personnel Board on a tie vote, saying too many of the mayor’s appointees are her neighbors on Prospect Street. The mayor says she picks the most qualified individuals for positions she controls – no matter where they live.