There are 8 candidates who have qualified for the ballot in the race for East Greenwich Town Council (with five seats available) and 7 candidates who qualified for EG School Committee (with four seats available). We list them all below. Stay tuned for additional coverage as well as candidate forums in October.
2022 Town Council candidates
(alphabetically)
Caryn Corenthal
Age: 64
Occupation: I am a learning disabilities teacher at the Hamilton School at Wheeler
How long have you lived in East Greenwich? 28 years.
Education: Masters in Education plus a few credits shy of my PhD. University of Iowa, NYU.
Party: Democrat
Reason for Running: I decided to run in 2018 because the town was in disarray. I believe this council has restored integrity, transparency and respect to EG. I want to continue to serve the community because we have many important projects (waterfront study, parking study, town master plan) that I would like to see completed.
Previous elected experience: Town Council 2018-20 and 2020-22
Personal: My husband, Mark Zimmerman, is head of outpatient psychiatry and the day program at Rhode Island Hospital. My two children live in NYC.
Michael Donegan
Age: 59
How long have you lived in East Greenwich? 30 years
Occupation: Attorney at Orson and Brusini, Ltd. (specializing in Environmental Law)
Education: B.A., Dartmouth College; J.D., University of Pennsylvania Law School
Party: Democrat
Reasons for running:
- maintaining an open and transparent government that is engaged with the residents;
- preserving our sense of community and avoiding the drama seen on the national political stage;
- supporting excellence in education;
- reducing the tax burden on residents;
- developing fiscally responsible and fair budgets; and
- building a local government staffed with talented professionals that will provide the very best services to our residents.
Previous elected experience: Town Council 2018-20 and 2020-22 (served as vice president for both terms)
Community service/volunteer work: EG Planning Board, chair and vice chair; East Greenwich Conservation Commission; Cole Middle School Mock Trial team coach; EGHS Model UN program advisor; EGHS Debate team and varsity judge
Personal: Married to Dr. Linda Donegan; five children who all attended East Greenwich public schools; dog named Brady
Renu Englehart
Age: 56
How long have you lived in East Greenwich? 21 years
Occupation: Board chair, Women & Infants
Education: BA History, American University
Party: Democrat
Reason for running: I think we still have work to do. I feel it’s important to give back to the town that has been a home to our family
Previous elected experience: Town Council 2018-20 and 2020-22
Community service/volunteer work: EG Zoning Board for 12 years; Town Traffic Study member; Women & Infants, board chair; Wildlife Rehabilitators of R.I. volunteer
Personal: Married to Peter for 32 years; three sons – Nicholas, Duncan and Cooper (all attended EG schools all the way through), and one daughter-in-law, Sarah.
Peter Rodgers
Age: 48
How long have you lived in East Greenwich? 9 years
Education: B.S. Physics, U.S. Naval Academy; M.A. Government Strategy & Policy, U.S. Naval War College; M.S. Organizational Leadership, National Defense University
Party: Republican
Reason for running: I firmly believe that good governance can only be achieved when multiple viewpoints are respectfully considered and our current local government only reflects about half of the town’s voters; thus, I think it’s important for the Town Council to be more politically balanced to more accurately reflect the makeup of the town.
Community service/volunteer work: Flag Football coach (1 season); serving at Operation Stand Down R.I. events; clean up events at historic cemeteries in EG.
Family information: My wife of 22 years, Catherine; son (Malcolm); daughter (Emma); and miniature Labradoodle (Scout).
Brandon Salomon
Age: 46
How long have you lived in East Greenwich? 7 years
Education: Boston University
Party: Republican
Reason for running: To offer transparency and accountability to residents who pay some of the highest taxes in the state. In addition, to draw from my extensive business experience to ensure community members receive value for money as well as help support local business growth, development and planning.
Community service/volunteer work: Participated in the Memorial Day tradition of placing flags at Veterans Memorial Cemetery with East Greenwich Boy Scouts.
Family information: wife, Suzanne, and two school-aged children
Mark Schwager
Age: 65
How long have you lived in East Greenwich? 28 years
Occupation: Primary care physician, St. Elizabeth Home, East Greenwich; Roger Williams Medical Center, Providence.
Education: B.S. Biology, Brown University; M.D., State University of N.Y. at Buffalo
Party: Democrat
Reason for running: I want to continue the work of the current Council to implement our goals of open and effective town government, excellence in education, and building a strong sense of community.
Previous elected experience: Town Council 2006-2010; 2014 to present; EG Fire District 2011-13.
Community service/volunteer work: East Greenwich School Building Committee; EG Planning Board; EG Education Foundation; EG Land Trust; EG Environmental Affairs Committee
Personal: Married to Patricia Flanagan, M.D. (pediatrician extraordinaire); three adult children and one grandchild
Brian Turner
Age: 47
How long have you lived in East Greenwich? 5 years
Education: Penn State University, BS in chemistry
Occupation: Vice President, Technology & Innovation, for a construction materials company
Party Affiliation: Republican
Community Service: EGFFL Coach (2017-18); years of engagement in local church activities including community programs, assisting sick and elderly, teaching children, service production, and board chair leadership.
Why I’m running: To offer the unrepresented moderate to conservative constituents of East Greenwich a reasonable, measured, data driven, and fiscally responsible voice in the management decisions of our town.
Personal: Happily married to my wife Tanya, with two sons who both graduated from East Greenwich High School.
Michael Zarrella
Age: 53
Background: Graduated from Rocky Hill Country Day School, has lived in East Greenwich for decades
Occupation: Criminal defense lawyer
Education: Springfield College, BA in history and political science; University of Quinnipiac School of Law, JD
Party: Democrat
Why I’m running: I think the town’s doing really well and we’ve established a very stabile government in East Greenwich. I’m going to keep running until we get a recreation community center.
Previous elected experience: Town Council 2018-20 and 2020-22
Community service/volunteer work: Served as a coach and assistant coach for a variety of local youth sports teams.
Personal: Married to Leanne. We have three children in or graduates of the EG public schools.
School Committee candidates
(alphabetically)
Nicole Bucka
Age: 44
How long have you lived in East Greenwich? 11 years
Occupation: Educator
Education: Rhode Island College, dual certification in special education and English; California State University, English language learner certification; National University, San Bernardino, California, MA in teaching and learning.
Party: Democrat
Why I’m running: I’m just getting started! Thank you, EG residents, for electing me last fall in the special election. I’ve worked hard and achieved a lot, but the first year has had a learning curve even with all my experience. I ask for your support this fall to elect me for a full term.
Previous elected experience: EG School Committee 2021-22
Community service/volunteer work: Two terms as EG Special Education Advisory Committee co-chair, which included serving on the Superintendent Hiring Committee, the School Reopening Committee, and the Strategic Planning Committee.
Personal: I am married to Jim, a teacher at EGHS, and have two sons, both students in the East Greenwich School District.
Justin Cahir
Age: 40 years old
How long have you lived in East Greenwich? 4 years
Education: Bryant University, BS in Finance, minor in Economics
Occupation: I’m an executive at a large financial institution which I’ve worked for over 16 years.
Why I’m running: I’ve decided to run to bolster academic excellence and bring leadership, transparency and partnership with parents to EG schools.
Community service/volunteerism: Tee ball manager
Personal: My wife Kristine and I moved to EG four years ago with our two boys, Logan (12) and Saxon (5), primarily for the school system.
Peter Carney
Age: 44
How long have you lived in East Greenwich? 6 years
Occupation: Regional Vice President, Caliber Home Loans
Education: University of Richmond, BA in Political Science
Party: Republican
Why I’m running: I have decided to run to fiercely advocate that the EG School District maintain focus on its most fundamental principle: Recognize that the first and greatest concern must be the educational welfare of the students attending the public schools (EGSD Policy 1115).
Community service/volunteer work: Coaching boys and girls teams for the EG Basketball Association; assistant coaching for EG Flag Football; helped organize the 5K / Fun Run fundraiser in support of Frenchtown and Eldredge PTGs in 2018 and 2019; member of the EGHS School Improvement Team
Personal: Married to Jennifer with four children, three attending EGSD schools.
Theresa Daly
Age: 50
How long have you lived in East Greenwich? 9 years
Occupation: Business professor and academic coach (both college level); former financial advisor
Education: BA, Social Work; MBA
Party: Republican
Why I’m running: I decided to run for School Committee because we, as residents, taxpayers, and parents, were promised an unmatched education for our children and because politics have become centerstage in the current School Committee, and our students and their educational experiences have suffered.
Previous elected experience: This would be my first elected position
Community service/volunteer work: East Greenwich Education Foundation; Cole Middle School PTG board member; Hanaford Elementary PTG, president; Meadowbrook Farms PTG, president; Hanaford, enrichment teacher; Girl Scouts, troop leader and community service manager; Kent County YMCA, board member; Pajama Program R.I., chair;
Personal: Married to Sean, an EGHS alum, for 17 years; have a 15-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son, and 2 Goldendoodles that think they’re people!
Clare Cecil Karb
Age: 42
How long have you lived in East Greenwich? 4 years
Occupation: I worked as a social worker for many years but have been “home” since my oldest kiddo was about 3.
Education: Goucher College, BA; University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MSW
Party: Democrat
Why I’m running: I’m inspired to run because the students in our schools – now more than ever – need an environment that supports and promotes their mental well being. I hope that my training as a social worker will help me to serve as a conduit among stakeholders and an advocate for students in the community.
Community service/volunteer work: I have been active in PTG activities and an in-school volunteer at the schools that my older two children have attended (Hanaford and Meadowbrook), specifically chaperoning field trips, being a Boo Bash car, teacher’s appreciation day, the book fair and other activities. For the coming school year, I’m slated to co-coordinate the “Recycled Reading” program with Hanaford PTG and I’ll be on the PTG board at Meadowbrook coordinating the before school enrichment programs.
Personal: My wife, Rebecca, is an emergency physician with Brown/Lifespan and we have three children, Tess (rising 6th grader) Eloise (rising 3rd grader), and Juniper (rising kindergartener).
Alyson Powell
Age: 46
How long have you lived in East Greenwich? 8 years
Occupation: Attorney, stay-at-home parent
Education: Duke University, BA in English and BA in Biological Anthropology and Anatomy; University of Pennsylvania Law School, JD; University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Master of Bioethics
Party: Democrat
Why I’m running: We’ve been through and done so much as a district and a community over the last four years, but there is always more to do. Looking forward to welcoming and working with our new superintendent to hopefully realize a master plan for the future of EG schools.
Elected office experience: EG School Committee, 2018-present
Community service/volunteer work: PTG and classroom parent volunteer; board member of Hands in Harmony, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality and increasing the availability of evidence based music therapy services in Rhode Island.
Personal: I’m married to Dan and we have two daughters, Amelia and Ellie, and ridiculous dog named Iggy
Eugene (Gene) Quinn
Age: 71
How long have you lived in East Greenwich? 46 years
Occupation: I’m a recently retired college professor. I was a member of the full-time math and data science faculties at Stonehill College, and co-director of the actuarial mathematics program.
Education: Providence College, B.S. in Mathematics; URI, M.S. in Experimental Statistics ;URI, Ph.D. in Applied Mathematical Sciences
Party: Democrat
Why I’m running: As a 46-year resident, I have paid several hundred thousand dollars in property taxes. I’m proud of what my taxes helped build, and I want to see that investment preserved.
Previous elected experience: EG School Committee 2018-presen
Personal: Married to Sheila
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At one time while I was a member of the Boilermaker’s Union my boss had a saying. “Do something even if it is right.”
With a new Council about to be seated
and with all these new ideas, comments I read posted on EG News (which just send tingles up my spine) I believe it is time a long hard study be done not on Pickle-Ball Courts, the noise, dog parks, etc. to me which is actual minutiae in comparison.
For a reason unbeknownst to me the area from First Avenue north to Division and from Water Street to I believe west Kenyon Avenue has been labeled “The Hill & Harbor District.”
What does this mean? It means a property with .162 of an acre of land on Exchange Street “below the hill”, has a land valuation only for Real Estate Tax at $207,000.00. An acre is about 43,560 square feet. So .162 of an acre is roughly about a little over 7,056 square fee, again valued at $207,000.00.
Let us now travel to Signal Ridge Way west of South County Trail. Each house sits on an acre on land, once again an acre is 43,560 square feet. This is 36,504 more square footage or a multiple of 6.17 more footage of land than the land on Exchange Street.
Properties in Signal Ridge area each with a minimum of 43,560 square feet of land in which some have a tax valuation on the land only that is less or equivalent to land value on Exchange Street. If it’s equivalent the square footage in Signal Ridge may be slightly more than a acre.
Everyone has access to this database to verify.
There are other properties located in this so called prestigious “Hill and Harbor District” with only 10,000 square feet of land valued at $259,000.00. That is .23 of an acre and the land only is valued at nearly $80,000.00 more than properties on Signal Ridge Way. (The “Hill & Harbor District” also does not benefit from buried utilities.)
So every time I appeal my revaluation I mention this inequity to the individual representing the Town at my appeal. Every time I am told, “what do you think we are going to do, adjust all values in East Greenwich just for you?” This question is an actual acknowledgment that a problem exist. Now it is time to adjust this problem, but I’ll be kind and use a euphemism, I’ll substitute the word problem with injustice.
How about if the Town Council who I am sure are unaware of such an unfairness (or could care less) as are 99% of the population of the Town of East Greenwich correct such an issue throughout all of East Greenwich. There is no rhyme or reason to this unjust system.
So all these ideas which all you
..
Auslanders have for the improvements of this Town, which some I stand in minimal opposition, how about throwing some of these ideas towards the remediation of an inequitable Town Real Estate Tax system which in the very least is arbitrary or better yet based on a algorithm 40 years old or more. (The old dartboard game method.)
In other words “Do something, even if it is right.”