CRANSTON, R.I. — Sue A. Stenhouse, as city director of senior services, arranged to have a man pose at a Jan. 5 news conference as an older woman to be helped by a new snow-shoveling program for the poor and infirm being announced that day, according to the City Council president and the chairman of the city's Democratic Party.

John E. Lanni Jr., president of the Democratic majority council, and Michael J. Sepe, Democratic chairman, who is running for election to replace Republican Mayor Allan W. Fung, said Thursday that they learned from their sources at the Cranston Senior Enrichment Center and elsewhere that Stenhouse recruited a city van driver to play the role of a woman at the news conference in front of the center.

He wore a dress, earrings, lipstick, a curly haired wig, big eyeglasses, had a purse, and a name tag proclaiming him a "Cranston Senior Home Resident."

Three days later, Stenhouse was out as director of senior services, having “resigned” her post, according to Fung aide Robert J. Coupe. Fung refused a request for an interview and Coupe would not elaborate in the immediate aftermath.

Stenhouse later declined substantial comment, except to say in an email Tuesday that she is proud of her service. She could not be reached Thursday. Fung was also unavailable.

“The cross-dresser was standing right next to the mayor” at the announcement, Lanni said, “and he [Fung] didn’t appear to recognize it.” Lanni and Sepe said they believe the disguise was meant to deceive the public and the news media and was not meant to be a light-hearted joke.

Lanni said the council will ask the Fung administration to explain the incident, but “I don’t think we’ll get an answer.” Stenhouse was appointed director in 2013 with council confirmation.

“It makes us the laughingstock of Rhode Island,” Lanni said. “It seems as if [Stenhouse] made a mistake.”

The van driver was pressed into service, according to Sepe, because Stenhouse could not find an older woman to participate in the ceremony as a potential recipient of the snow-shoveling service to be provided by high school seniors as part of their high school community service requirement.

In an email to the Journal Tuesday, Stenhouse said, “I am proud of my role in continuing the great legacy of this agency during the past two years. It has been an honor to promote healthy aging for our residents."

On her Facebook page Thursday, a message from an ostensible friend, Marie Foley Ahlert, sought to minimize the incident.

“Anyone who attends PR events knows they are staged. … How is this any different?”

With no snowfall at that point, Stenhouse also arranged to have snow piled in front of the senior center — accumulated from ice shavings at the Cranston Veterans Memorial Rink. Smiling students dug into it with shovels that she provided and they flung clumps into the air for the benefit of photographers.

The Facebook post, noting Stenhouse's concern for seniors, went on to say it was 26 degrees the day of the news conference and "slippery by the snow pile." What's more, it said: "Knowing Sue, I'm sure she was thinking of the possibility of putting a 'real senior' in harm's way should someone recognize that person and go to their home to take advantage of them."

At the senior center Thursday, a group of men chortled and passed around a cell phone photo of the driver, who they know, in disguise.

Mike Fargnoli, 66, whose father regularly visits the center, said he recognized the driver.

"We all thought it was a joke," Fargnoli said. "I don't know what was going on. He's a very nice guy."

Stenhouse, 56, of Warwick, is a member of the Warwick Planning Board and was a member of the Warwick City Council. She was the unsuccessful Republican candidate for secretary of state in 2006 and was an aide to former Gov. Donald L. Carcieri. In her Cranston job, she oversaw a staff of about 31 full-time and part-time employees and was paid between $53,500 and $55,000.

With a report by staff writer Jacqueline Tempera.

—gsmith@providencejournal.com

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