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Gabon RPCV Patrick Rogers retires from East Provideence City Council
Gabon RPCV Patrick Rogers retires from East Provideence City Council
Second councilman declines to run again; cites work on waterfront commission
01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, June 16, 2004
BY RICHARD C. DUJARDIN
Journal Staff Writer
EAST PROVIDENCE -- Another city councilman has announced that he will not seek reelection this fall.
Patrick Rogers, a business lawyer at Edwards & Angell who has represented Ward 1 in the Rumford areasince 1998, released a letter to constituents yesterday saying he believes "now is a good time for a change."
His announcement follows Councilman Daniel F. Harrington's announcement Monday that he will not seek reelection because he and his wife are building a house in Rehoboth.
Rogers, 39, was recently named by Governor Carcieri and East Providence Mayor Rolland R. Grant to a four-year term as chairman of the city's new Waterfront District Commission. The 18-member panel was created to oversee development of some 500 acres of land. Rogers expects to spend much of his time on commission work.
A former senior aide to the late U.S. Sen. John H. Chafee, Rogers has been a popular vote-getter in East Providence, garnering 60 percent of the vote in his first bid for the council in 1998, and 65 percent of the vote in 2002. He ran unopposed in 2000.
A graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and Catholic University School of Law, Rogers was a Peace Corps volunteer for two years in Gabon, Central Africa, where he helped build a school and a village health clinic. He worked with Chafee for five years. He and his wife, Maura, have four children.
In his letter, Rogers wrote: "It has been an honor for me and my family to represent our community at City Hall for the past six years. In my view, there is no more rewarding public office than serving in local government.
"Local government affects our lives on a daily basis -- educating our children, maintaining our roads, operating our libraries, taking care of our parks and playgrounds, and handling police, fire and emergency calls. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on the City Council. Thank you."
The deadline to file declarations of candidacy for seats on the City Council and School Committee is June 30.