By RUSS OLIVO

WOONSOCKET — With what is shaping up as one of the busiest election seasons in years fast approaching, the City Council is expected to take steps soon to fill a longstanding leadership gap at the Board of Canvassers.

Although state law calls for a managing clerk to run the Board of Canvassers, the top job in the office has been vacant since Manager Linda Fontaine retired in December 2008, said James Allam, chairman of the board. The appointed, volunteer board, assisted by paid staff, is responsible for registering voters, tabulating election results, certifying the ballot and other essentials of lubricating the machinery of the electoral process.
In a money-saving move, Mayor Susan D. Menard — with the assent of the City Council — left the manager's position vacant after Fontaine retired, said Allam. Recently, some funds for personnel were restored to the canvassers' budget, but not enough to hire the full-time person that's needed.
“It's coming to light now that we're having activity for a mayoral election,” said Allam. “We really need someone in charge. We're not talking a lot of money, but there's a high  level of responsibility to maintain the integrity of the electoral process.”
The managerial void has become particularly evident in recent weeks after a jurisdictional squabble between Menard and the City Council over interim supervision. Months ago, Menard had instructed Finance Director Ted Przybyla to temporarily oversee the Board of Canvassers, but Przybyla says has has relinquished those duties after City Council President Leo T. Fontaine recently criticized the administration for getting involved in the affairs of the canvassing authorities.
Efforts to reach Fontaine for comment on this story were not successful, but Councilman John Ward said the council
president was chiefly concerned that the Board of  Canvassers is run through the proper channels.
Ward said the Board of Canvassers is an arm of legislative branch of government, which means it's up to the City Council, not the mayor, to oversee its affairs. In order to hire a  full-time manager, a candidate must be selected by the Board of Canvassers and confirmed by the City Council.
“It's really not under the mayor's authority,” said Ward. “It's really under the authority of city council through the office of the city clerk. In some smaller cities and towns the canvassing functions are handled directly through the clerk, but in Woonsocket they're an extension of the city clerk.”
The “other problem” with the canvassing authority is “it's clear there's not going to be enough staff there to run an election,” said Ward. “It was cut too deeply and something needs to be done.”
The council is scheduled to meet with the Board of Canvassers Monday to discuss the manager's position. Allam said he is hoping the council restores enough funding to the  canvassing authority's budget so that it can hire a full-time person for the job.
While the recently adopted city budget includes $13,721 for a part-time manager, Allam said a full-timer would cost about $45,000 a year. Currently, there is one full-time clerk in the office and two part-time aides. They work under the appointive authority of a three-member Board of Canvassers, which includes Allam and Rita Rousseau. Gil Perez, a former member, stepped aside about two months ago after moving to North Smithfield, and that position remains vacant and must be filled by a Republican because Allam and Rousseau are both Democrats. Allam said the applicable law calls for both political parties to be represented on the board.
Robert Kando, the director of the state Board of Elections, told The Call Friday that reports that the Woonsocket Board of Canvassers was “falling behind on voter registration issues” prompted him to dispatch an aide to the city on a fact-finding mission about two months ago. He was left with the impression that operations were running smoothly because the city planned to hire the former manager – Fontaine – on an interim basis to run the office through the citywide election.
Unknown to Kando, Fontaine was never actually hired for that position, city officials say. Although she is working in the city clerk's office under a provision of state law that allows retirees to be rehired as temporary workers, Fontaine was offered her old job back but she turned it down. She has agreed to train someone but she does not want to return to the position, officials say.
“This is the first I've heard of it,” Kando said. “We sent someone out and the report I got back was that things were largely okay.”
Kando said state election law requires the board of canvassers in each municipality to hire “a clerk” to be in charge  of managing elections. Despite the variation in terminology, Kando said the manager's position in Woonsocket would fill the requirement.
But Kando did not seem particularly concerned that the position has been vacant for over six months. Such vacancies are not all that unique in the course of business as workers  retire, get sick or otherwise vacate jobs from time to time, he said. The key issues for the local board are more pragmatic, such as whether there is adequate manpower on hand to properly register voters, tabulate votes and meet other legal obligations, said Kando.
With all major public offices up for grabs this fall, there are already at least seven possible contenders to succeed Menard, who says she won't seek re-election.  A high level of public discontent with joblessness, rising taxes and an unsettling outlook for the future all suggest that the field of contenders for City Council and School Committee will be similarly competitive, and voter turnout high. The first deadline for preliminary declarations of candidacy to the Board of Canvassers is Aug. 25.
“That's a very important election for the city of Woonsocket,” said Kando. “It's going to be up to the Board of Canvassers to run it according to state law.”