EAST PROVIDENCE — A pair of audio recordings emerged on YouTube Thursday, Aug. 24, of Council President and Mayor Jim Briden apparently criticizing both the city’s teachers and his counterpart on the body, Ward 1 Councilman and Assistant Mayor Bobby Britto. The recordings, which appear as though they were made during a phone call, were posted separately. 

In a text response received by The Post Friday morning, Aug. 25, Mr. Briden denied the authenticity of the recordings, saying, "The audio was manufactured and is not valid." He continued, "I am going to be meeting with my attorney to further evaluate this matter."

Mr. Briden is heard on one of the recordings discussing his involvement in past contract negotiations with teachers while serving as part of the state-appointed Budget Commission and offering his opinion on the union’s bargaining tactics.

On the other, Mr. Briden appears to be comparing his political credentials to those of Mr. Britto. Mr. Briden was elected to the Council in November of 2016 as its At-Large member after serving previously from 2012-14 as the Ward 1 rep. Mr. Britto was elected to replace him when Mr. Briden opted not run for a second term in 2014.

Mr. Britto, reached by phone later Friday, said he had "no comment" at the time, but expressed a desire to speak on the matter at some point in the near future. "I am definitely going to circle back on this," Mr. Britto said.

The topic was eventually taken up at the Council’s next meeting held on September 5. Then, Mr. Britto said he had known about the existence of the tapes since late last year, confirming speculation the recordings were made prior to the current Council’s inauguration in December 2016. He said he had spoken with Mr. Briden about the matter and accepted an apology.

Also at the meeting, Mr. Briden said the conversations were similar to ones he had by phone with Ward 4 Councilor Brian Faria late last year. Mr. Faria did not acknowledge being the source of the tapes, but at the same said he did not post them to YouTube.

— This story has been edited from a previous version.