N. Smithfield councilor to resign
Daniel Halloran stepping down from post
NORTH SMITHFIELD – Town Councilman Daniel C. Halloran, 76, will be giving up his seat on the five-member panel for health reasons effective Dec. 1, town officials confirmed on Thursday.
Halloran, a past member of the panel serving from 1993 to 2001 and president for four of those years, was elected to his current twoyear term on Nov. 8, 2016. He and the rest of the current members of the panel, Thomas McGee IV, John Beauregard, president, Clair Vallieres O’Hara, and Paul Zwolenski, were sworn in during inauguration ceremonies at the high school on Dec. 1, 2016.
Town Clerk Debra Todd said on Thursday that she has received an email from Halloran confirming his resignation as of Dec. 1, and noted the reason to be medical-related on the recommendation of his doctor.
“I think it is sad. He only had a year to finish his term and he’s been a good man on the council,” she said. “I feel badly that he has to step down,” Todd said of Halloran, a resident who had remained involved in town affairs over the years even when not on the council.
As a result of his decision, Todd said the Town Council will have the authority to appoint a replacement council member to serve out Halloran’s remaining term as provided by the Town Charter.
Had the unexpired term been longer than a year, Todd said a special election would have been called to fill the position.
Town Council President John Beauregard said Thursday that he had received word of Halloran’s resignation plans and was thinking of him and his family as he addresses his medical issues.
“I loved having Dan on the Council,” Beauregard, who came on as a political newcomer last year, said of the veteran councilman.
“We didn’t always vote the same but he was a solid guy. He always did the right thing,” Beauregard said.
Beauregard, a former R.I. State Trooper, and Halloran, a former member of law enforcement at the federal level, also shared a bond through their past careers, he noted.
“We had quite a bit of mutual respect for each other,” he said.
As for the need to fill Halloran’s unexpired term on the council, Beauregard said he won’t entertain that process until Halloran’s Dec. 1 resignation is accepted.
After that occurs, Beauregard said he would like to see the panel move quickly on considering nominations and filling the post.
That process could be a difficult decision to complete given the potential for interest that may surface for the seat, according to Beauregard.
“There are a lot of good solid people in the town who are really active in different areas of the community and it will be difficult to even make nominations,” Beauregard said.