A Letter to the Tiverton Council President

23 August 2013

President Edward Roderick

Tiverton Town Council

Tiverton Town Hall

343 Highland Road, Tiverton RI  02878

Dear Mr. Council President:

I am writing you today to discuss the conduct of Budget Committee Member Madeleine O’Dell as well as the conduct of her husband James O’Dell.  At issue is also a serious lack of response on her behalf to some of his questionable conduct.

Recently, in a newspaper interview, Ms. O’Dell suggested openly and to the public that Tiverton should secede and join Massachusetts.  She went further saying that she had already contacted government officials in Boston regarding such a move.

There are two problems here:

First, the very thought is delusional.  It portrays the entire Tiverton Budget Committee and any process said Committee undertakes as non-serious.  It gives the impression that members of the Tiverton Budget Committee engage in illegal substances before talking to the media.

Secondly, it is a possible violation of the State Ethics Code.  I cannot find on record any vote taken by the Budget Committee regarding contacting Massachusetts.

I plan to explore the second possibility.  Thankfully in this case, I can write the state government in Boston using their records process and find out whether she did or not.  This would be a marked difference from my experience in Portsmouth where they are allegedly hiding documents.

Then we get to the conduct of her husband James O’Dell.  He has been running around the internet making fun of the recovery community and making borderline racist statements.  It is my understanding he sometimes applies for building permits in your community.  There are statutes regarding racism he must follow.

With regards to the recovery community, his activity may not violate any law but his wife must be aware of it.  She has never distanced herself from his remarks.  Therefore, it can be argued that the Town of Tiverton, via its Budget Committee, is hostile to the recovery community.

I do not live in Tiverton so I cannot tell you how these matters should be handled.  I can only tell you how it looks and it is not pretty.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Robert T. Oliveira

401-924-3563