Gebhart: Travis False Document Plea Requires Ouster as Pro Tempore

WARWICK, RI — After Councilwoman Donna Travis’s false document plea of “no contest” Wednesday, she got a suspended 1-year sentence, fine and a Councilman Vinny Gebhart’s call for her resignation and ouster as Pro Tempore.

As Pro Tempore of the Warwick City Council, Travis presides as a fill-in leader of the body when the Council President cannot attend. She was serving in that capacity July 17, when she ordered frequent city critic Rob Cote’s ouster from a City Council meeting moments into his allotted public speaking time addressing a Providence Journal article about Travis’s property transfer troubles. She also faces an ACLU lawsuit contesting that action.

Travis’s sentence also includes a 1-year probation, a $96 fine, court costs and a court order for a title search on the property in question. The charge was the result of a Rhode Island State Police investigation into allegations involving the Councilwoman’s transfer of property from the Oakland Beach Association.

In 2023, the Oakland Beach Real Estate Owners Association sued Travis in Superior Court alleging fraudulent transfer of 735 Oakland Beach Ave. to Travis, possibly hinging on her role and that of Beverlee Sturdahl, its past secretary, in 2021. Neither were officially listed as officers of the Association in 2021, when Sturdahl signed the quit claim deed passing ownership of the  735 Oakland Beach Ave. property, assessed by the City of Warwick at $65,700, from the group to Travis.

In pleading no contest, Travis did not contest the facts of the charge, allowing the court to enter a sentence and punish her as if a guilty verdict had been entered.

“Today, I address the recent indictment of Councilwoman Donna Travis. Ms. Travis has served the Warwick community for many years. However, it is with deep regret and disappointment that I acknowledge her recent actions,” Gebhart wrote in a release following Travis’s arraignment and plea.

“Ms. Travis betrayed the trust of the Oakland Beach Association by wrongfully claiming ownership of a property to which she was not entitled for her own personal gain,” Gebhart continued.

“The integrity of our city government and the trust of our community members are paramount. While Ms. Travis’ long service to our city is recognized, this serious lapse in judgment and failure to uphold her duties as a member of the City Council cannot go unnoticed. We hold all our public officials to the highest standards of honesty and integrity, and actions that undermine these values are unacceptable.

In light of these events, it is imperative that Councilwoman Travis resign her post as Chairwoman of the City of Warwick Democratic Party. Furthermore, I urge my colleagues in the Democratic Caucus to immediately vote to remove Ms. Travis as Pro Tempore of the City Council,” Gebhart wrote.