$182K loan, ethics filings tie Woonsocket mayor to developer in controversial land deal

This article originally appeared in WPRI on November 1, 2023 and was written by Eli Sherman.  

Below is Common Cause Rhode Island executive director John Marion’s comment on Target 12’s investigation into Woonsocket Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt’s controversial $1.1 million land deal.

The loan from Bourque was not disclosed by Baldelli-Hunt on her 2011 or 2012 ethics forms, which caught the attention of Common Cause Rhode Island executive director John Marion, who’s been tracking Baldelli-Hunt’s political career since she served in the General Assembly prior to becoming mayor.

“WPRI’s reporting appears to show that Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt, while serving in the state legislature, failed to properly disclose a loan she and husband received from a Woonsocket businessman,” Marion said. “Unfortunately, the Ethics Commission’s six-year statute of limitations means that apparent violation of the state’s Code of Ethics will go unpunished.”

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