Council President Luis Aponte Issues Statement Regarding Today’s Special Meeting

PROVIDENCE, RI—Providence City Council President Luis Aponte today issued the following statement regarding the March 13th special meeting to schedule the recall election for Ward 3 Councilman Kevin Jackson:

“In compliance with the Providence City Charter, this matter was already on the docket for our regularly scheduled Council Meeting this Thursday, March 16th,” said Aponte. “The confusion around whether a special meeting was needed prior to that is a direct result of a conflict in state election laws and those laid out in the City Charter: state law requires a recall date to be set within 50 days of the signatures being certified, and the city charter provides for 60.” Aponte continued: “While I do question the somewhat harried intervention by the state while we were acting within the parameters of our Home Rule Charter to schedule this election, I certainly respect the process.”