Woonsocket's appointed mayor wants to keep his seat as Baldelli-Hunt investigation looms over race
WOONSOCKET – Five months after being appointed mayor following the abrupt resignation of Lisa Baldelli-Hunt, Christopher Beauchamp announced Tuesday he’d like voters to keep him on as the city’s elected leader.
Beauchamp, 64, served 12 years on the City Council, including as its president, before the revelation last November of a secret land deal between his friend, Baldelli-Hunt, and a local real estate developer led to her stepping down.
Baldelli-Hunt “is my friend, she will always be my friend,” Beauchamp told The Journal after his announcement Tuesday that he was joining the race for mayor. “She is not involved in my campaign.”
“We were aligned on many things, but we didn’t always agree,” he said. “So, I appreciate where she brought the city in the last 10 years but it's a new leadership, new culture, new philosophy on how to do things.”
Looking back: Baldelli-Hunt's departure
Baldelli-Hunt cited health reasons for her resignation. But her departure came soon after reports that she had arranged a $1.1-million land deal with a long-time real estate associate, Raymond Bourque, without informing top city officials, including the council.
The land purchase, at five times its assessed value, was for possible use as affordable housing.
The incident again threatened Baldelli-Hunt's position as mayor – the council removed her in October 2022 after finding she repeatedly overstepped her authority. A month later she ran unopposed for reelection and won.
Between-the-lines: Investigation over Baldelli-Hunt's dealings looms over the race
Beauchamp joins two other men who have announced their candidacy for mayor: state Rep. Robert Phillips and City Council President John Ward.
Ward has supported an investigation into the controversial land deal, which was mutually rescinded after it came to light. Last fall, the council approved spending $15,000 for an outside lawyer to interview city officials and others about the land transaction.
Ward said recently the investigator had interviewed about a dozen or more people and that others – he didn’t say who – had chosen not to speak to the investigator.
A preliminary draft of the investigation should be completed by the end of May and the final draft will be made public, Ward said.
Beauchamp said Tuesday he thought an investigation was unnecessary and that what happened is now public knowledge.
If council members “want to continue to do that and spend that taxpayer money, that’s on them. I wouldn’t do it if I was part of that council because I believe the mayor has resigned, I did fire the city finance director because I think she was very culpable and not making sure she was a great steward of the money, and that’s where I left it.”
What is Beauchamp campaigning on?
Beauchamp, who said he has been in the paving and construction business for more than 40 years, wants to move Woonsocket forward. The city must focus on finalizing projects now underway and better promote itself to housing developers.
As Woonsocket’s next elected mayor, he will lean on a political philosophy of “communication, cooperation and compromise” which he admitted wasn’t always the case previously.
“In the five months holding the post, I’ve learned, I've talked to people in my departments. I don’t tell them how to do their jobs. They tell me their work because that’s what they do every day," he said.
Contact Tom Mooney at: tmooney@providencejournal.com
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Woonsocket mayor's race heats up as incumbent Beauchamp wants to stay on
