Letter: Dzwierzynski’s criticism lacked facts | Opinion

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Last week’s letter from George Nonis (Dzwierzynski Chooses Politics Over Duty, The Independent, 8 December 2022) accused newly elected City Council Speaker Ewa Dzwierzynski of being a pawn for the Narragansett Pier Residents Association (NPRA). Her fundamental criticism was that Ewa supported the interests of the residents, including that she voted for the three-student ordinance. Mr Nonis points out that Ewa voiced support for the unrelated four ordnance during her initial campaign, but later voted for the three-student ordinance. This is the only correct statement in Mr. Nonis’ letter.

The facts are that to Ewas’ great credit, once elected, she studied the issue, looked at the data, listened to residents and came to realize the level of damage the overcrowded rental houses turned dormitories have inflicted. to families and neighborhoods for decades.

There are other things that Mr. Nonis did not tell you in his letter. He didn’t tell you that he’s the chairman of the Narragansett 2100 Owners Group. He didn’t tell you that this year Narragansett 2100 heavily funded a special interest PAC called One Narragansett that put up signs all over the city ​​promoting a slate of candidates they say would be political pawns for the landlords. He didn’t tell you that Narragansett 2100 coerced a few hundred student tenants into changing residences in Narragansett and registering to vote for their list of candidates, not telling them to check with their parents to see if such change of residence would threaten their student aid. , tax status or driver’s license.

Fortunately, Narragansett voters saw through this charade. Four of the candidates the owners opposed were elected; four of the five candidates they supported were defeated. And as one of those four elected candidates, Ewa won overwhelmingly in ALL of the city’s electoral districts, including the pier.

To further correct the file, the ANRP never asked for the replacement of the judge of the Municipal Court or the lawyer of the city. Auctioning municipal appointees before deciding on renewal does not negatively impact current appointees. Each new board will make its own decision on how to approach maintaining existing resources or engaging new ones.

As a local neighborhood group, established to maintain the quality of life for residents and the special character of our city, NPRA is flattered to hear that Mr. Nonis thinks we run the city. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Ultimately, the voters who reside in Narragansett run the town. In this election, they have spoken clearly for policymakers who support their interests, and that is perhaps what irritates Mr. Nonis the most.

Harold Schofield,

Narragansett

The author is president of the Narragansett Pier Residents Association.

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