Councilman Robert Pelletier was issued a stay of execution last week when the Cranston City Council kicked the debate over their colleague’s eligibility back to the Board of Canvassers.

The board initially sent the issue to the city clerk and the council after their Dec. 27 meeting. Based on their comments at that public meeting, though, it appears Pelletier could lose his Ward 4 seat.

“The law is the law,” Board of Canvassers Chairman Joseph DeLorenzo Jr. said Tuesday.

DeLorenzo felt strongly that it was under the BOC’s purview to make a determination of Pelletier’s eligibility to serve the city’s fourth ward. The board’s solicitor disagreed, and the issue was sent upstairs to council chambers.

“The city solicitor overruled me. I believe it was incorrect,” he said, defending the board against allegations that the BOC tried to avoid their responsibility. “We didn’t punt anything up to the City Council. What we did was follow the instructions of the city solicitor, who is appointed by the mayor.”

The Board of Canvassers will do a “thorough investigation,” he continued, including issuing subpoenas if necessary. He hopes to hold a meeting as early as next week, at which Pelletier can present his case and the public would be invited to speak.

“I want to clear this up quickly,” DeLorenzo said.

Pelletier’s constituents and public officials on both sides of the issue spoke at last Wednesday’s special meeting of the Cranston City Council. Pelletier declined to comment.

“He doesn’t just show up for high profile events to get his picture in the paper,” said supporter Pete Kelleher, who has worked with Pelletier as the treasurer of parent advocacy group BASICS. “It’s not about the spotlight with Rob. It’s about helping out and trying to make things better for the city. He’s the kind of guy you can count on.”

Ward 4 resident Jason Jodoin has not worked with Pelletier before but feels that, as a voter, he has been lied to.

“Mr. Pelletier is being deceptive and misleading,” he said.

Jodoin brought with him copies of Pelletier’s campaign finance filings that continued to use the 81 Laconia Road address, even after Pelletier admitted he had left the ward.

Former council presidents Aram Garabedian and John Lanni agree. They believe that violating the city charter shows a lack of transparency and trustworthiness – qualities constituents need.

“A ward councilman who steps over the line and moves, in my opinion, is in definite violation of the city charter,” said Garabedian, adding that he has been involved in the city charter in Cranston for more than 30 years.

Former Councilman Mario Aceto was present at the meeting and yielded his speaking time to Garabedian, who went on to say that even in the case of the city solicitor, Cranston voters overwhelmingly voted to maintain a residency requirement. If they want the solicitor to live in Cranston, he said, it stands to reason that they would feel equally committed to maintaining ward residency requirements for the City Council.

Pelletier filed a quit claim on his property at 81 Laconia Road in the fourth ward on June 10, 2011. It was not until December, though, that the Board of Canvassers was notified by an anonymous letter that he was no longer living in his ward. In order for the situation to move through the proper channels from here on out, allowing the BOC to undergo a comprehensive investigation, signed affidavits were required. DeLorenzo said that two affidavits had already been submitted after the council meeting last week.

Pelletier’s legal counsel, Shannon O’Neil, warned the council not to take action on her client’s eligibility, calling it a “dangerous path,” as it could be considered a conflict of interest. She also indicated that her legal strategy going forward could revolve around whether her client is eligible to vote, and how that corresponds with holding office.

DeLorenzo counters that the board never called the councilman’s voting rights into question.

“I’m not going to deal with his voting right. At no time did you hear anyone on the board mention taking his right to vote away,” he said.

Rather, the charter says that a ward councilperson must maintain actual residence in that ward or the seat is considered vacant. DeLorenzo says that the term “ipso facto” is crucial in this passage of the charter and that Pelletier forfeited his rights to his council seat when he sold his home.

“You can’t un-ring the bell,” he said.

Solicitor Pat Quinlan also touched upon the requirements for holding office in his comments, citing cases where an elected official allowed his lease to run out in his district while living in Washington, D.C. and was allowed to keep his office.

“Residency, as the case law stands on this, deals with intent as well as physical presence,” he said.

DeLorenzo said he would not be surprised if the issue ends up in court, as Pelletier’s counsel argues the interpretation of the chart. Former Council President Lanni fears it might end up in court either way.

“All the votes he took from that day on could be challenged in court,” he said, questioning what kind of legal fees the city could be forced to pay if Pelletier’s past votes do end up being challenged.

While the City Council is no longer overseeing the investigation, the lines drawn Wednesday were clear. Republican council members Jim Donahue, Michael Favicchio and Leslie Ann Luciano focused their statements on whose responsibility it is to look into the matter and agreed that it is the Board of Canvassers who should make a determination in Pelletier’s case.

Council President Tony Lupino came to his colleague’s defense, pointing out that many members of the body have fallen on tough economic times over the past year and urged them to be empathetic to Pelletier, who could no longer afford mortgage payments after his divorce and the loss of a second income.

“Mr. Pelletier, I don’t think, wished for a divorce; he didn’t wish to lose his home to a short sale. He had the intent of staying in the ward,” Lupino said.

The council president believes Pelletier’s record speaks for itself, pointing out that he has the best attendance record. Moreover, Lupino does not receive calls of complaint against the Ward 4 councilman. In a Cranston Herald online poll, 82 percent of readers felt Pelletier should not be forced to step down.

Other council members, including Emilio Navarro of Ward 2 and Paul Archetto of Ward 3, made it clear that they perceive a violation of the city charter and, therefore, a violation of Pelletier’s oath of office.

“We’re not making this a political circus. This is totally on Councilman Pelletier,” Navarro said. “Please, be honest with the residents of your district. You owe it to the residents of that ward to be honest and straightforward with them.”