Thank you to each of the 1,465 voters who took the time to vote in this special election, congratulations to Bonnie Van Slyke for winning the election, and congratulations to all three candidates for putting their names forward as candidates! Vote totals in post.
There’s one candidate who stands out above the rest and deserves our vote, Bonnie Van Slyke. In her own right, Bonnie‘s experience and past service on the Charlestown town council (2014-2022) place her as the best choice.
I write to ask Charlestown’s registered voters to support Bonnie Van Slyke’s bid for the vacant seat on our Town Council. Please vote (now, or on election day), and when you vote – go deep!
The only “special interest” that Bonnie has is to protect Charlestown’s spectacular natural resources and low tax rate, to promote honest and transparent government, to prevent unregulated development and loss of local control, to promote positive educational leadership, and to protect all these assets for future generations.
Virginia Lee: “Independent Charlestown Town Council candidate Bonnie Van Slyke’s previous service on the Town Council proves she has the experience and integrity to represent you well. She is a proven candidate for Charlestown Town Council. She will listen to your concerns and is willing to do the hard work to protect our environment, our economy, and our low tax rate.”
When: Friday, December 5 from 5:00 pm until 9:00 pm
When: Saturday, December 6 from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm
Where: Cross’ Mills, Charlestown Beach Business Areas, and beyond (see map in post)
When: Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13 from 5:00 pm until 8:00 pm
Where: The Fantastic Umbrella Factory, 4820 Old Post Road
When: Saturday, December 6 from 12 p.m to 4 p.m.
Where: Quonochontaug Grange, 5662 Post Road Charlestown
The Tomaquag Museum Team invites you to join them in celebrating Nikommo, a beloved Narragansett tradition that’s all about giving back. It’s a fantastic chance to dive into Native arts and enjoy some amazing storytelling.
You can return your ballot by mail, but make sure there is time for it to be received by December 2. If you are in Charlestown, you can place your mail ballot in the special ballot box outside Town Hall anytime between now and December 2, 2025.
In the last year, a few developers have proposed packing into their developments many more houses per acre than are allowed under zoning. For instance, on an environmentally sensitive parcel zoned for about 20 houses, over 400 dwelling units were proposed. Recent changes to Rhode Island law make over-development in vulnerable areas in Charlestown almost inevitable.
Keeping the water that flows beneath the ground (groundwater) clean is one of the most important issues facing Charlestown—not only because it is the source of our drinking water, but also because its deterioration will affect the health of our saltwater ponds and inland lakes.
It happens every campaign, and it has happened again. Campaign signs mysteriously walk away, never to be seen again. Campaign signs create visual clutter and contribute to plastic pollution. They are also expensive and require monitoring to check if they are still in place. Perhaps in future elections, local candidates could all agree on one thing, and that would be to skip the campaign signs.
When: Saturday, November 22, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: St. Andrew Lutheran Church, 15 East Beach Road, Charlestown
Holiday Baskets of Greens, Crafts, Baked Goods, Jewelry, Books, Quilts, Santa’s Workshop, Soft Goods, Nearly New Items, Coffee, donuts, and more
When: Saturday, November 22, 8:00 a.m. to Noon
Where: St James Parish Center, 2079 Matunuck Schoolhouse Road, Charlestown
Cost: Free parking and admission
This Holiday Sale features beautiful and well priced holiday decorations for your house, dining table, mantle and outdoor displays, hand made by Garden Club members to raise funds for their scholarship program.
Wednesday, November 12 is the first day of Early Voting at Town Hall. Voting will take place between 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday, from Wednesday, November 12 to Wednesday, November 26. An additional early in person voting day will take place at Charlestown Town Hall between 8:30 am to 4:00 pm on Monday, December 1.
Our town deserves a government that will safeguard our excellent quality of life, our low tax rate, and our beautiful environment, priorities supported overwhelmingly by our taxpayers in the 2021 Town-wide Survey. To accomplish this, I offer the commitments listed in this post if elected to the Town Council:
At the August 12 and October 14 Town Council meetings, Council President Deb Carney proposed issuing $1.05 million in Open Space bonds that voters approved in 2015—over a decade ago. The funds would “reimburse” the General Fund for land purchases already paid for, potentially creating new debt and freeing cash for unrelated projects. Several residents raised concerns about fiscal responsibility and voter intent. This topic is on the agenda again at the November 10 Town Council meeting.
When: Friday, November 28 at 10am
Where: Meet at the Patricia Sprague Forest Preserve parking lot on Railroad Ave. in Carolina
Cost: Free and open to all
RSVP: Link to RSVP in post to let CLT know you are coming!
When: Saturday, November 15 at 9am
Where: Meet at Charlestown Town Beach Parking Lot
Cost: Free and open to all
RSVP: Link in post to let CLT know you’re coming!
The Charlestown Land Trust (CLT) invites you to join them in a rewarding community cleanup event.
I’ve watched our town change over the years, sometimes for the better, sometimes in ways that make me pause. I want to make sure Charlestown stays the kind of place that drew us all here in the first place: beautiful, rural, with dark skies and a local government that’s grounded in common sense.
The project will restore the Breachways’ structural integrity, improve safe navigation, stabilize the coastline, and preserve essential water flow to maintain ecological balance, and water quality.
When: November 6 from 6pm to 7pm
Where: In person at Warwick City Hall, 3275 Post Rd., Warwick
or
When: November 12 from 6pm to 7pm
Where: Virtual Meeting via Zoom
Help shape Rhode Island’s wildlife future by joining RI DEM at one of these public workshops on the 2025 Rhode Island Wildlife Action Plan
As many of us in Charlestown look forward in the coming months to a holiday season full of delicious food, others are facing imminent food insecurity. Please join us in supporting our neighbors in need. The Rhode Island Center Assisting Those In Need (RI CAN) is a local lifeline to many.
When: Vote from November 12 to December 2
Where: Charlestown Town Hall, 4540 South County Trail – or by Mail ballot
What: Special election to fill a Town Council seat left vacant by the passing of Richard “Rippy” Serra
Please support Independent candidate Bonnita B. Van Slyke in the December election.
Because Town Councilor Richard “Rippy” Serra’s passing on August 7 created a vacancy on the Town Council more than one year prior to the 2026 election, the Town’s Charter requires a special election rather than an appointment to fill his seat. The person elected on December 2 will serve until December 2026. In this post are candidates, deadlines, polling places and more.
After a lengthy discussion, the Chariho School Committee voted at the October 21 meeting to choose the single, or unified elementary school option for Chariho’s Stage 2 application to the state. The application is part of the district’s five-year capital improvement plan, which is mandated by the RI Department of Education. Read the story at the Beaver River Valley Community Association website.
When: Friday, October 31 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall
What: Visit the Charlestown Town Hall with your little witches and ghosts and go trick or treating through all of the Town Hall departments. Enjoy the spooky decorations and pickup some extra candy.
Cost: Free for all
When re-elected to the Town Council, Bonnie will hit the ground running to stand up for the best interests of our town, and she will bring a much-needed balance to the Town Council where everyone is now part of the same political group. Bonnie is committed to accountable and ethical leadership, sound fiscal management, local control over land use, wise stewardship of our natural resources, and positive educational leadership.
When: Tuesday, October 14, at 7 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall
What: Bonding of already-paid-for land purchases is back on the Town Council agenda
A majority of the Charlestown Town Council is considering using money designated by voters in 2015 for one thing—preservation of open space—for something else. And it makes no sense that it would be OK for the Town Council to issue a bond in order to be able to spend the money again—effectively spending the money authorized twice.
RI law limits the amount that CCA can donate to one candidate and as a result, Bonnie Van Slyke will have to raise and spend her own campaign finance funds. If you want to make a donation to Bonnie’s campaign in the December election, please follow the directions in this post.
Thank you to everyone who gave up part of a beautiful summer day to visit us at the Charlestown Mini Super on October 2, 3, and 4 to sign Bonnie Van Slyke’s nomination papers for the December 2 special election. Thank you especially to the Mini Super for generously allowing us to set up Bonnie’s nomination papers in front of the store!