Patronage jobs announced by new Cranston City Council leadership

Jan. 10--CRANSTON -- Former Republican City Committee Chairman Nicholas J. Lima has been put in charge of the city's day-to-day election machinery.

Former Deputy City Solicitor Evan M. Kirshenbaum has returned to local government as the lawyer for the City Council.

And the new Republican council majority has nominated city resident Stephanie M. Medeiros, a certified public accountant, as internal auditor -- a post that used to be obscure but became a political issue in the mayoral election campaign.

These are among the patronage appointments made or identified by the new council president, Michael J. Farina, and his GOP majority. Council dynamics have decidedly changed, too, with Farina having reassigned committee leaderships and memberships.

Michael W. Favicchio, R-Ward 6, and Christopher G. Paplauskas, R-Ward 5, chaired their first meetings Monday night as the new chairmen, respectively, of the Finance Committee and Safety Services and Licenses Committee.

Lima, 31, is the new $43,340-a-year registrar of canvassers, replacing Steven J. Sepe, son of the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for mayor, Michael J. Sepe. Sepe lost to Republican Mayor Allan W. Fung in the November general election.

In anticipation of landing his full-time job from the council as registrar, Lima quit as city chairman on Dec. 15. Lima also stepped down as director of baseball operations for the Newport Gulls, a nonprofit summer collegiate baseball team.

Kirshenbaum, 48, a Cranston resident, is senior partner of Kirshenbaum Law Associates, a Warwick firm, and he is an experienced trial lawyer specializing in family and personal injury law.

According to the city Home Rule Charter, the council president names the lawyer. Kirshenbaum replaces Patrick J. Quinlan.

"I picked someone the council knew," Farina said. "I think Pat's an excellent attorney. I just wanted someone who was a little closer to me."

As for internal auditor, certified public accountant Anthony C. Moretti had occupied the part-time position. It became a political flashpoint when former Democratic council president John E. Lanni Jr. assigned Moretti to estimate and keep track of the financial costs of Police Department scandals and litigation.

Michael J. Sepe, a close friend of Lanni's, tried to make political hay of the scandals in his mayoral campaign. That inflamed Republicans on the council, who accused Moretti, a one-time Republican council candidate, of exaggerating the financial costs in order to benefit Lanni and Sepe. Moretti insisted his analysis was objective.

Moretti was paid an annual salary of $30,000 plus city-subsidized health insurance, according to Farina, who said the health insurance will be discontinued and the salary reduced to $20,000 for Medeiros.

With Farina now in control of committee assignments, Paplauskas has the chairmanship of the Ordinance Committee as well as Safety Services and Licenses. Farina said Finance and Ordinance have the "most impact" of the council's five standing committees.

Other new chairmen are Kenneth J. Hopkins, R-citywide, of the Public Works Committee, and Trent M. Colford Sr., R-Ward 4, of the Claims Committee.

Farina has abolished a sixth standing committee, the Flooding Committee, which was created in 2010 after severe flooding in Cranston. Most of the panel's work has been done, according to Farina, who said that any lingering business will be handled by Public Works.

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