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Record of Proceedings

Cranston City Council Special Meeting – August 27, 2025: Resignations of Legal Counsel and Council President

City Council — Wednesday, August 27, 2025
BodyCranston, Rhode Island
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, August 27, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:25:54

Original source
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15:56

Good evening.

15:57

Welcome to the Cranson City Council special council meeting this evening, which is Wednesday, August 27th.

16:03

At this time, it asked for the clerk to please take the role.

16:06

Councilman Campopiano.

16:08

Present.

16:08

Councilman Banano.

16:09

Present.

16:10

Councilwoman Graziano.

16:11

Present.

16:11

Councilwoman Horaion.

16:13

Present.

16:13

Councilman Andrew Har.

16:15

Present.

16:15

Councilman Ritz.

16:16

Present.

16:16

Councilman Trafficanti.

16:18

Present.

16:18

Council Vice President Wall.

16:20

Here.

16:20

Council President Marino.

16:22

Present.

16:22

At this time and ask for a motion to take the agenda out of order.

16:25

Motion to take the agenda out of order.

16:28

Second.

16:28

Any discussion?

16:30

There being none.

16:31

Clerk, please take the role.

16:33

Councilman Campopiano.

16:35

Yes.

16:35

Councilman Banano.

16:37

Yes.

16:37

Councilwoman Graziano.

16:38

Yes.

16:39

Councilwoman Horrian.

16:40

Yes.

16:41

Councilman Anduhar.

16:42

Yes.

16:43

Councilman Ritz.

16:44

Yes.

16:45

Councilman Trafficanti.

16:46

Yes.

16:46

Council Vice President Wall.

16:48

Yes.

16:48

Council President Marino.

16:50

Yes.

16:51

Move on to item four, executive session.

16:55

At this time it make a motion to go into executive session.

17:00

Pursuant to Ryland General Laws, Section 42 46 dash five, subsection A, subsection two for litigation or prospective litigation regarding patent versus Cranston City Council.

17:13

An OMA complaint dated August 21 relative to special council meeting of August 2025.

17:19

Do I have a motion?

17:20

Motion.

17:22

Second.

17:23

Any discussion.

17:26

Councilman Ritz.

17:28

Um I've heard a lot from residents about this.

17:31

This executive session here, too.

17:34

Um you know, uh a lot of the residents want to hear this in open discussion.

17:38

I know there's parts of it that can't be, but I've heard loud and clear from from the residents they want openness and transparency.

17:44

A lot of them reached out, several of them I can see here.

17:46

Um whenever I vote no, I want to explain no, but I'm going to be a no on this because I feel like we should have this in open session as much as we can.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████81%
Personnel Matters███████13%
Government Operations██4%
Pending Litigation█2%
Summary of Proceedings

Cranston City Council Special Meeting – August 27, 2025

The Cranston City Council held a special meeting on August 27, 2025, during which they entered executive session to discuss pending litigation and an Open Meetings Act complaint, and received resignation announcements from the City Council's legal counsel and the Council President. The meeting was marked by controversy over transparency and personal attacks.

Consent Calendar

  • Motion to take agenda out of order: approved unanimously.
  • Motion to enter executive session: approved with Councilmen Ritz and Campopiano voting no, citing desire for open discussion.
  • Motion to come out of executive session: approved unanimously.
  • Motion to seal executive session minutes: approved; Councilmen Campopiano and Ritz voted no.

Discussion Items

  • Executive Session Debate: Councilmen Ritz and Campopiano opposed going into executive session, arguing for public transparency. Councilman Anduhar asked the city solicitor to explain the law; solicitor Malay stated the exception is permissible but not mandatory. Council President Marino defended the move, citing the pending lawsuit.
  • Remarks of Legal Counsel Stephen Angel: Attorney Angel announced his resignation effective September 30, 2025, citing a "full-blown circus" under the Hopkins administration, personal attacks, and misconduct by administration officials. He submitted a resignation letter. The council voted to enter the letter into the record (8-0-1, President Marino abstained).
  • Resignation of Council President Jessica Marino: Council President Marino announced her immediate resignation, effective at the conclusion of the meeting. She cited a hostile environment, gender-based disrespect from the mayor's office, and loss of joy in public service. She submitted a resignation letter, which was entered into the record unanimously.
  • Council Responses: Councilman Trafficante expressed disappointment and thanked both departing officials. Councilman Anduhar and Council Vice President Wall offered thanks for guidance and service.

Key Outcomes

  • Council entered executive session to discuss litigation (Patten v. Cranston City Council) and an OMA complaint. Minutes were sealed.
  • Attorney Stephen Angel resigned as legal counsel to the City Council, effective September 30, 2025.
  • Council President Jessica Marino resigned her council seat immediately. The council will need to fill the vacancy at a future meeting.
  • Letters of resignation were formally entered into the record.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. Welcome to the Cranson City Council special council meeting this evening, which is Wednesday, August 27th. At this time, it asked for the clerk to please take the role. Councilman Campopiano. Present. Councilman Banano. Present. Councilwoman Graziano. Present. Councilwoman Horaion. Present. Councilman Andrew Har. Present. Councilman Ritz. Present. Councilman Trafficanti. Present. Council Vice President Wall. Here. Council President Marino. Present. At this time and ask for a motion to take the agenda out of order. Motion to take the agenda out of order. Second. Any discussion? There being none. Clerk, please take the role. Councilman Campopiano. Yes. Councilman Banano. Yes. Councilwoman Graziano. Yes. Councilwoman Horrian. Yes. Councilman Anduhar. Yes. Councilman Ritz. Yes. Councilman Trafficanti. Yes. Council Vice President Wall. Yes. Council President Marino. Yes. Move on to item four, executive session. At this time it make a motion to go into executive session. Pursuant to Ryland General Laws, Section 42 46 dash five, subsection A, subsection two for litigation or prospective litigation regarding patent versus Cranston City Council. An OMA complaint dated August 21 relative to special council meeting of August 2025. Do I have a motion?

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