Cody Clarkin’s Comments On Leaving The Town Council

The following comments were read by Cody Clarkin at his last Town Council meeting on November 14, 2022. Cody Clarkin has been a member of the Charlestown Town Council for 2 years, but has served the town for over 8 years.

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I am humbled to have served the Town of Charlestown for eight years and I thank the citizens of the town for the opportunity.

It has been difficult to prepare these farewell remarks. It is not only a farewell as I am leaving Council, but my farewell to the town that I have lived in for almost my whole life. I spent so much time thinking about what I wanted to say, what I should say, and what needs to be said. I will not be able to summarize everything that has happened these last two years or say thank you to everyone who deserves to be thanked or we might be here longer than for any other meeting, 5 hours and 1 minute by the way, I checked. I actually went back and tallied all of our previous Council meetings. 88 meetings, 142 hours and 1 minute, and 693 official votes taken. This does not include commissions and board assignments, meetings, preparing for meetings, reading documents, or all of the other duties.

My first thank you is for all of the members of our boards, commissions, and other committees. These are members of our community who are selflessly volunteering their time to make Charlestown the gem of Rhode Island. I would also like to extend a similar appreciation to all Councilors who sit in these seats: past, present, and future. They are taking on an incredible duty and task to help shape and protect Charlestown’s future. I wish you the best.

I must also extend a huge thank you to the town staff. Charlestown is extremely well served. Having worked as a town employee and then as Councilor, I can proudly and honestly say that Charlestown has the most impressive, dedicated staff in the state. We have numerous employees that are renowned around the state and the region, often being consulted on matters impacting state and federal policy; by providing their input, they elevate Charlestown’s position and voice on critical matters.

A special thank you to Town Administrator Mark Stankiewicz, whose management of the town has been extremely effective and commendable. It’s under his guidance that many of the later-mentioned achievements were possible. And to Town Clerk Amy Weinriech, IT Director Chris Pancaro, and Town Solicitor Peter Ruggiero for being right there with us at all of those meetings and all you do behind the scenes to make it happen.

I would like to thank my parents, for many many things, but in particular to my dad for getting me involved in civic service and my community. Starting from cleaning my neighborhood garden and collecting trash along the side of the road, all the way to elected office. And to my mom for instilling a lifelong love for learning and desire to use that to help others. I must also thank my siblings, Cheyenne and Chris for always being there for me and providing me with guidance along the way. I would not be where I am or who I am without you.

My last thank you is to Charlestown as a whole. I am at a loss of words for where to begin. My family moved here when I was three years old. I grew up going to Charlestown Summer Camp, hiking the woods of Carter preserve and Burlingame, attending Chariho, playing youth soccer, and all of the other parts of what makes living here and growing up here unparalleled. As excited as I am to move out and live on my own, it is extremely hard to leave my hometown. Charlestown is one of a kind and I am so thankful my parents chose here to raise us.

Over the last two years the town has seen some significant achievements that should be noted and commended. Now many of those 693 votes were procedural like to adjourn, but it’s the few momentous ones that I will remember forever. One of my proudest was something I actually enjoyed this afternoon when I took my dog, Emmy, for a hike. The vote to acquire Tucker Woods will remain among the most important to me. Charlestown has long benefited from sound, stable government and is better prepared for what lies ahead, especially in relation to climate change with environmental protections and considerations that look towards the future rather than just the present. Our conservation lands will for generations provide Charlestown with not only great hikes but clean drinking water and healthy ecosystems. Despite incredible social and economic uncertainty, Charlestown has managed the following achievements: fully funded its OPEB obligations, reducing our outstanding debts; zero tax increase with the most recent budget cycle despite record inflation and increasing costs; town hall remained open throughout the pandemic; passage of our 20-year comprehensive plan; conducting a town-wide survey, providing important data about the wishes of Charlestowners; improved FEMA rating to class 6, the first town in the region to receive such a rating; ongoing research into issues that are important to the town’s wellbeing; and that is to name more than a few but far fewer than I wish.

Now I was not naive to the nature of politics, nor the effects of social media when I ran for office. I was aware that I would become a public official, and with that become a public target. Like many, I have concerns about the direction and tone politics at large is taking and the ripple effects that we feel on the local level, some caused directly by social media. Over these two years there have been incidents that have raised alarms for me, especially when there are attacks on other, albeit higher ranking, elected officials and their family members. I have been incorrectly identified as gay and received homophobic slurs, questioning “what that homosexual is doing.” Over this summer when questions were raised regarding my residency, comments were made about what was my license plate, what kind of car I drove, and what routes I took to work. Now this was under the guise of ensuring I was in fact still living at home. However, there were also some comments like I am “sleeping with the fishes”. Each is alarming by itself, but it is clear how this type of rhetoric when tolerated can build and combine causing extreme harm, either bodily or to our community and democracy. Just because it is expected, does not mean it is acceptable. Just because it is “normal” politics, does not mean it has to be. We should not normalize hate, intimidation, or any other forms of uncivil discourse. I do not believe the road towards tolerance and equality is an easy one, but it is a just and necessary battle.

Between community projects, my time with Parks and Recreation, and Town Council, for over 9 years it has been my honor and pleasure to give back to the community that has raised me. And it has been the absolute privilege of my life to have been elected by the people of Charlestown to represent them these past two years. Wherever life brings me, to Westerly and beyond, Charlestown will always be home.

 

 

You can learn more about Cody at his profile page.