WOONSOCKET – Cindy Johnston, the city’s finance director, has been fired, Interim Mayor Christopher Beauchamp told WPRI-TV CBS 12 Wednesday. Christine Chamberland has been named interim finance director.
Johnston’s firing comes just days after Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt resigned on Nov. 9. Johnston’s dismissal and Baldelli-Hunt’s departure are tied to an Oct. 25 report by WPRI-TV CBS 12 that Baldelli-Hunt made a deal with a former business associate in which she directed more than $1 million in city-controlled federal funds to be used to purchase 5 acres of vacant land off Mendon Road.
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“I thought it was in the best interest of the city to do it sooner rather than later,” Beauchamp told WPRI of Johnston’s firing.
WPRI also reported that the City Council was unaware of the deal until it was closed and the city’s solicitor moved quickly to reverse the deal.
“She didn’t follow the charter. When there’s an amount over $100,000, it has to [go to the] City Council for approval,” Beauchamp said. “She thought because it was federal funds, she didn’t have to. She should have put a red flag up. She should have known that.”
According to her letter to city residents on Nov. 9, Baldelli-Hunt said she is leaving office due to health matters. She said she experienced some “serious health concerns” in April and her health issues “have not resolved” as she has hoped, despite continuing to work.
“The time has come for me to address my health and the well-being of my family,” Baldelli-Hunt wrote. “As much as I love the city of Woonsocket and all of you, I must reorder my priorities to suit the current circumstances. For the first time in a decade of service to the city, my health and family must come first.
“With that, I am hereby resigning my office as mayor of the city of Woonsocket, effective immediately,” she said.
Baldelli-Hunt was first elected as the city’s mayor in 2013. Prior to that, she served as a state representative from 2006 until she resigned to run for mayor.
However, Baldelli-Hunt has been embroiled in controversy the last couple of years. In October 2022, the City Council removed Baldelli-Hunt as mayor. The removal was in response to a complaint that then-City Councilor Denise Sierra filed against Baldelli-Hunt, accusing the mayor of not performing her duties. Sierra accused the mayor of repeatedly ignoring and refusing to enforce ordinances and measures passed by the council.
But a month later, Baldelli-Hunt reclaimed her role as the city’s mayor since it was an election year and Baldelli-Hunt ran for the office unopposed.
