Status of NAACP Providence leadership unknown as president faces charges
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — A former Providence City Council candidate pled not guilty Tuesday morning to breaking campaign finance laws.
Gerard Catala is charged with failing to file campaign finance reports during the 2022 election. Catala was elected the new president of the Providence chapter of the NAACP last fall.
How will the local chapter move forward?
NBC 10 News reached out to the local and national NAACP chapters Tuesday to learn more about how the situation is being handled.
NBC 10 asked whether Catala would keep his role while he faces charges but have yet to hear back.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha addressed the matter on Tuesday.
"Mr. Catala is presumed innocent. He has a right to a trial. We have a case we have to prove and so he stands today as a person who is only accused and not convicted," said Neronha.
Neronha's office pulled grant funding from the NAACP for this year because the organization did not return a standard questionnaire sent to all grant recipients in December.
"I want to be clear. This is not funding. This is not existing funding that the NAACP had to keep its operations going. This is supplemental funding for them to do new and different work," said Neronha. "So, when we ask for information that would allow them to deliver, to take the grant funds to account for, and they don't provide that information, it shouldn't come as a surprise that we're going to be less likely to send them money out at this time."
Life for Vincent after the election
NBC 10 also spoke with former NAACP Providence President Jim Vincent who has served with the local chapter for more than 20 years, with 12 years as president.
"I'm not done yet. I'm a life member of the NAACP Providence, meaning I am in it for life," said Vincent.
The former president lost his seat to Catala last fall by 14 votes.
The results still need to be certified by the NAACP national chapter.
New opportunities on the horizon
Vincent said he experienced mixed emotions since the election and new opportunities.
He was recently appointed chair of the New England Area Conference housing committee. It is also known as the New England NAACP chapter, consisting of 17 branches.
"They're all in need of housing assistance, I'm sure, because America's going through a housing crisis, so there is plenty of work to do," said Vincent. "It gives me an opportunity to use my specific work skills, because I spent most of my career in housing to help the NAACP, which is something I've been close to for the last 20 years."
Vincent said he will continue to support the NAACP Providence.
"Certainly, I am here to serve the community, and it was a privilege and an honor to be the president of the NAACP," said Vincent.
The conversation with Vincent was a small part of a larger conversation about Black History Month which begins Feb. 1.
The weekly series begins this week.