Fontaine fumes as Menard waffles on departure

By ETHAN SHOREY, Valley Breeze Staff Writer

WOONSOCKET - Woonsocket Mayor Susan D. Menard may be having second thoughts about leaving the post she has occupied for more than 12 years.

That's left the man scheduled to take her place in June saying, "Enough is enough."

"I just need to know one way or another," Council President Leo Fontaine told The Breeze last week about whether Menard will leave June 15 as she promised in March.

Back then, Menard said she was cutting her term short because she was just "tired" and that her son Kevin, an Air Force pilot currently based in Utah, told her she has been in public office for long enough after nearly three decades. Also, she said Kevin and her daughter-in-law needed her to help care for a new grandchild due very soon.

That triggered Fontaine, as council president, to begin wrapping up his position with Corkery Genealogical Inc., a legal and probate family business.

Meanwhile, it was revealed last week at a City Council work session that Menard has kept a secret audio-video recording system in her office at City Hall. Lawyer for the council, Raymond Marcaccio, in a letter to Menard's lawyer, stated that neither Menard nor employees under her should destroy or hide files in any form, including any information from the audio-video recording system.

Menard is currently being investigated by the state Ethics Commission for leasing Harley-Davidson motorcycles for the last several years through her son-in-law's Harley dealership, with City Council candidates questioning whether there were ever any bids taken for the leases.

About Menard's possible delayed departure, Fontaine says, "It's rather difficult for me to make any transition plans without knowing what she's going to do, for my personal life or for changes at City Hall, any personnel changes that need to be made."

The council president says he has put in many hours in City Hall with various department heads going over next fiscal year's budget, as he says everyone in city government is working toward a smooth transition.

Fontaine says Menard said last Saturday on local radio that she would like to stay around until both a new police chief is appointed and new contracts are worked out with the city's unions, a process not expected to be completed by June 15,

On Tuesday of this week, Menard was heard on WNRI radio saying that she would decide June 15 whether she is staying longer.

Menard has not returned repeated messages from The Breeze left at her Marian Lane home and office. Her secretary has reported the mayor has been in meetings since last Wednesday.

Menard did participate in several interviews on local radio last week, indicating that she is undecided about whether to finish her term in office, according to Fontaine.

Asked what Menard has told him in private conversations, Fontaine said he's heard everything from leaving like she said she would on June 15, to "maybe July," or even, as some have speculated, finishing the remaining year and a half on her seventh term as mayor.

Fontaine was critical of Menard on the radio for her indecision, saying, "I think we need a little more candor."

"Set a date, make a decision, and live by that decision," he said.

Fontaine said that Menard's indecisiveness doesn't just affect him and his family as they figure out what their immediate future will look like, but also the city's Board of Canvassers, which must prepare for a special election to replace Fontaine on the City Council.

Two candidates have already said they will run for the seat once it is vacated, former two-time Menard opponent Todd Brien and perennial candidate Michael Moniz. Some have speculated that Menard is trying to get back at Brien, one of her harshest critics, and Fontaine, who has continued to push for an investigation into activities at City Hall, by creating doubt that she will really leave before her term expires.

Menard has come under extensive fire from various parties in recent months, as she continues to try to block investigations by the City Council into how she has operated City Hall and dealt with the responsibilities of city employees.

Under the City Charter, Fontaine as president of the City Council will take over as the mayor and finish the year and a half remaining in Menard's term if she does indeed leave. A special election will then be held to find his replacement on the council.

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