Brennan Not Seeking Re-Election For Council Seat

Another Charles from the North Kingstown Town Council will not be seeking re-election this fall. Independent Charles "Chuck" Brennan will not seek a second term on the council; last week .

Though Stamm is stepping down for geographic reasons (he lives in Florida during the winter and flew back to Rhode Island every two weeks for council meetings), Brennan says he was discouraged by his experiences on the council.

"I guess I just don't really like it as much as I thought I was going to," said Brennan. "I like politics but maybe not being in politics."

The most disheartening experience for Brennan was the relationship between the town council and school committee, he said.

"The relationship has just been really negative," said Brennan. "I think I tried to get both sides to work together and it hasn't worked on anything, from consolidation to working out the schools financial problems to going to court."

Brennan added that there is "very little communication" between the school department and town council – which he mainly attributes to the fact that both parties are still in court. He is also hopeful that the next council and school committee will have better working relationships.

The town's legal battles also irked Brennan, between its litigation with the (an ordinance which he opposed) and another with the.

"I'm a champion of sitting down and talking things out with people," said Brennan. "I agree with Dick Welch that this town has spent a lot on lawyers. I just feel strongly that hiring lawyers to fight is a bad thing."

It was a busy first term for Brennan, as the freshman councilor was hit with the wind turbine saga in the early days of his tenure. Despite the outcry and fervor over the matter, Brennan is pleased with the final result.

"I think it's a positive thing that we don't have a 400-foot turbine in a corn field," said Brennan.

With at least two new faces guaranteed on the council in December, Brennan hopes that the new councilors "start talking to the school side early on."

"Immediately sit down with people on the school committee and talk over the issues you have ahead of time," said Brennan. "People are already working on the budget by the time you're elected and they're going to come right at you early in the year."

A former police officer on the North Kingstown Police Department, Brennan hopes to stay involved with the community even after the end of his term in November. He adds that he may contact Karla Driscoll (former executive director of the ) about .

"It seems like a good idea and I might