"I don't think anyone's more qualified," says Frank Hyde, Town Council president, who plans to schedule a special meeting this week.

08:48 AM EDT on Wednesday, October 5, 2005

BY ZACHARY R. MIDER
Journal Staff Writer

Former Gov. Bruce G. Sundlun is the leading candidate for the vacant town manager's post in Coventry, two Town Council leaders said yesterday.

Journal file photo

Bruce Sundlun

The Democrat who governed the state during a recession and a banking crisis in the early 1990s could soon find himself buying dump trucks and plotting sewer lines for this suburb of 34,000.

Sundlun, 85, spent Sunday afternoon at the home of the council president, who came away impressed. "You show me a better candidate and I'll hire him," said Frank Hyde, a Democrat. "I don't think anyone's more qualified than Bruce Sundlun, and if he can run this state in a time of crisis, he's certainly more than qualified to run the Town of Coventry."

The former governor recently applied to be town administrator in Jamestown, where he lives. But that application was rejected, according to Richard T. Sanetti, the Coventry council vice president.

Sanetti said he is not aware that Sundlun has ever lived or worked in Coventry, but said the former governor is itching to return to public affairs.

"I think this is just a matter of a guy that wants to get back in," said Sanetti, who also met with Sundlun on Sunday.

If hired in Coventry, Sundlun would answer to a five-man council -- four Democrats and a Republican -- who average half his age. He would face a commute of more than 20 miles.

"He says he's up for the challenge," Hyde said.

"Age is not an issue," said Sanetti. "He's got a twinkle in his eye."

Sundlun did not return phone messages yesterday at his home and his office at the University of Rhode Island, where he has long taught political science.

A growing community with an $83.6-million town budget, Coventry has been seeking a town manager since April, when longtime manager Francis A. Frobel resigned. Richard P. Sullivan, a lawyer and former state trooper, has been filling in temporarily.

The town recently placed an advertisement in a national magazine and received about two dozen applications.

Sanetti said Sundlun's résumé was submitted by the Sept. 16 deadline. But the Republican councilman, Gregory Laboissonniere, said he had not heard Sundlun's name mentioned until yesterday, and still has not seen his résumé. "My personal feeling is that it wasn't in on time," he said.

The post is advertised at $90,000, but Sundlun is asking for $100,000, Sanetti said.

Hyde plans to schedule a special council meeting for later this week to discuss the managerial search, and possibly appoint Sundlun, he said.

The other two Democrats on the council, who had not yet met with Sundlun, were more cautious yesterday. Thaddeus Jendzejec said he had a few questions for the former governor before he would support him. Justin A. Pomfret said he had not yet decided. "I know the ex-governor is a very hard-working person," he said. "He's definitely one to get the ball rolling."

Talk of a swift decision prompted an attack from William A. Brackett, chairman of the Republican Town Committee: "How can this council even attempt to vote on a new town manager when no interviews have been conducted? It is irresponsible and shows a total lack of leadership of the council."

But Hyde, the council president, said the town has gone without a permanent manager for long enough. "It's about time we got moving. We're ready to get down to business," he said. "Governor Sundlun's ready to grab the bull by the horns."