PROVIDENCE – A panel of state coastal regulators already under the magnifying glass for controversial decisions is facing a new scrutiny about one member’s eligibility.
If allegations are true that R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council member Donald Gomez no longer meets the criteria to serve, it could cast further doubt on council decisions. It would also add another open spot to a group already facing three vacancies, exacerbating existing attendance issues that have forced the panel to cancel several meetings due to lack of a quorum.
Meanwhile, Gomez, a retired U.S. Navy undersea warfare technician, defended his appointment and said the questions raised about his eligibility are politically motivated.
“Obviously, there’s someone who doesn’t want me on the council,” Gomez said in a recent interview with PBN.
Gomez’s seat on the council is one of six reserved for community members who represent appointed or elected officials in coastal communities. Gomez, who lives in Little Compton, served on a string of town boards and commissions, from the town council to school committee and several iterations of a town charter review commission. However, his most recent town appointment ended in 2019 when the town charter review commission disbanded in 2019, according to Town Clerk Carol Wordell.
State law says that any elected or appointed municipal official who serves on the CRMC can only keep their spot on the coastal panel so long as they are still in an elected or appointed municipal office.
Yet Gomez did not resign from the CRMC when his town appointment ended, instead continuing to serve and vote on matters including controversial decisions on the Champlin’s Marina expansion and the South Fork Wind Farm.
Gomez said he still meets the criteria to serve because of a separate, specially created appointment the Little Compton Town Council gave him, naming him as their town designee on coastal matters for the CRMC.
But Topher Hamblett, policy and advocacy director for Save the Bay, doesn’t think that counts.
“That does not pass the laugh test,” he said of the town’s special appointment to keep Gomez in his CRMC seat.
Not only does the creative workaround seem to defy the intent of the rules for council positions, it also creates potential conflicts with other parts of state law for CRMC. For example, CRMC subcommittees formed to hear contested cases need to include at least one council member who lives in the community being affected, according to state law. If there isn’t a council person available to represent that affected community, the city or town can appoint their own representative – not someone who ordinarily serves on the CRMC – to join the subcommittee on that particular case.
If a contested case was to come out of Little Compton, Gomez would be the natural CRMC member to represent his community on the subcommittee. If Gomez isn’t available or has some conflict of interest that doesn’t allow him to participate, the town’s designated representative to fill in, based on their own appointment, is also Gomez.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” said Beaver in explaining the conflict.
Gomez didn’t see a problem with it. He also said that his specially created town appointment seemed to pass muster with former Gov. Gina M. Raimondo when she nominated him for another term on the council in early 2020. That appointment was never confirmed, instead suspended indefinitely by the R.I. Senate amid the R.I. Attorney General’s investigation into alleged back-room dealing in the Champlin’s Marina case. The Senate has not voted on the confirmations since, spokesperson Greg Pare confirmed in an email on Wednesday.
The allegations surrounding Gomez’ position are the latest in a mounting series of concerns over the coastal panel, which has been denounced for what some say are politically motivated decisions made by inexperienced volunteers with too much power over the state’s coastline. A commission of state legislators have been studying how to reorganize the CRMC, and are expected to submit a report of recommended changes – including term limits, expertise requirements and even making the decision-making body into an advisory one – later this month.
Gomez, who has served on the council since 2007, opposed these recommendations. His professional experience in engineering and Naval undersea warfare make him well-qualified to serve on the CRMC, as does his continued commitment to learning all he can about the intricate rules and regulations governing the state’s coastline.
“When I first went in there, I thought, ‘my god, I already know a lot of this,’” he said. “But I am still learning.”
The 78-year-old retiree said he hopes to serve out the rest of this three-year term before stepping down, given his age.
“My plan was to stick it out but I don’t want to deal with all of this,” he said.
The governor’s office has referred questions about Gomez’ seat on the council to its legal department, according to spokesperson Alana O’Hare. Whether Gomez will be allowed to keep attending and voting on council decisions in the meantime is not clear. The council’s last two meetings since Save the Bay raised questions about his seat were both canceled.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.
