Democratic Candidates for Providence Mayor Meet in First Forum
Thursday, July 15, 2010
As Providence goes, so goes the rest of Rhode Island, said the Democratic candidates for mayor yesterday as they offered their plans for steering the capital city through troubled economic times.
The four Democratic candidates met in their first public form together held at the Regency Plaza: Steven Costantino, John Lombardi, Angel Taveras, and Chris Young. From fixing potholes to improving public schools, the candidates offered largely similar visions for the future of Providence. All agreed that the city needs to do much more for businesses, that department budgets should be cut to some degree, and that the arts community is integral to the future of the city.
But the candidates did diverge on some of the details of their plans. Costantino said the process for getting approval for a new business should be streamlined, so it doesn’t take one to two years. Lombardi called for tax credits to bring businesses to the city, for businesses that make new hires, and even a small $500 annual credit for new employees to help them pay for gas. “It’s the small things—you start small and go big,” Lombardi said.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTTaveras said the colleges and universities would be key to the economic recovery of the city, noting that higher education was one of the few sectors where jobs had been added over the last decade. (For more on his plan to create jobs, click here.)
Young proposed a “business incubator” program in which the city would help new businesses off the ground by investing in them through tax-exempt bonds.
One of the biggest issues was the $50-million-plus deficit the city is facing and its $800 million pension liability, according to Costantino. He said every department should come up with a plan for cutting 10, 20, and 30 percent of its budget so the city would know what its options were. Lombardi said the city needed to eliminate overtime pay and temporary unemployment and spend less on legal fees.
Taveras said he would spread cuts fairly across the city—promising that he wouldn’t reduce benefits for union employees without doing the same to city hall staff. “This is a shared sacrifice,” Taveras said. “All of us are in this together and it’s going to hurt all of us.”
By far, the most colorful and controversial candidate of the night was Chris Young, who attacked his fellow candidates as being insincere in their promises to fix the city. He accused the city of building public schools on toxic waste sites, challenged Taveras to investigate current Mayor David Cicilline for corruption, and said he would instantly improve the city’s financial situation by taxing Brown University, bringing in $100 million in revenue.
“I’m going against Brown. I can’t stand them—they arrested me,” Young said, referring to an incident at a lecture by Democratic Congressman Patrick Kennedy on campus last November. “I have a vendetta against them. You bet I do.”
What Did Voters Think?
One voter at the forum said most it all seemed like campaign rhetoric. “I think it was 90 percent platitudes,” said Grace Farmer, a resident of the East Side. “Everybody said the right words but no one had any concrete ideas.” Farmer said she is a Taveras supporter, saying she especially liked his emphasis on after-school programs.
Olneyville resident Miguel Feliz, on the other hand, is in the Costantino camp. “His political views are more on the right path than the others,” he said.
A Lombardi supporter said he was drawn to the long-time city councilor because of his experience. “He’s just a down-to-earth person,” said the supporter, who would only give his first name, Joe. “He knows what the city needs—the problems it faces.” But he said his second choice for mayor was Costantino, saying he agreed with how he would deal with city finances.
It was a good night for all the candidates, according to Hamlet Lopez, who is running for city council in Ward 8. He said Lombardi stood out becaue of his experience and service to the city. He said most did well and did not make any major mistakes, except for Young, who he said spent too much time attacking his opponents.
Focus on Downtown
Richard Lappin, a principal of the Regency Plaza apartment complex which sponsored the forum, said he considered the forum a success. He said organizers had wanted it to focus on downtown issues. And indeed, throughout much of the debate, the significance of the downtown was a theme the candidates echoed repeatedly.
“So goes Downcity, so goes the financial district, so goes the state of Rhode Island,” Lombardi said. “Downtown is incredibly important, not just for the city of Providence, but for the state of Rhode Island,” added Taveras.
Several candidates pointed to the vacant lot between Westminster and Weybosset streets as an example of what needs to be fixed in the downtown. “We have pockets of vibrancy in some parts of our city but we have strips of vacancies in other parts,” Taveras said.
Costantino said the city needed to have a comprehensive plan for economic development, rather than have a piecemeal approach. “Empty windows looking at empty windows in the downtown is not ideal,” he said.
The debate was moderated by Dan Baudouin of the Providence Foundation and David Brussat, an editorial writer for The Providence Journal.
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