Central Falls Mayor James Diossa: 13 To Watch in RI in 2013

Tuesday, January 01, 2013

GoLocalProv Editors

 

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No elected official in Rhode Island has more to prove in 2013 than newly elected Central Falls Mayor James Diossa, the 27-year-old Becker College graduate who cruised to victory in a special election in December.

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Diossa takes the helm of the state’s smallest city following the resignation of former Mayor Charles Moreau, who is on his way to prison after pleading guilty to corruption charges.

Now Diossa’s job is to clean up the city’s fractured image while leading Central Falls out of a bankruptcy that slashed public employee pensions and forced massive tax hikes for the foreseeable future.

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Some may question whether a 20-something kid can get the job done, but he’ll have no shortage of help. On the financial side, the state will be closely monitoring the city’s spending, which will give Diossa helpful second eye. The new Mayor has also earned the support of many of the state’s most respected Mayors, including Angel Taveras in Providence, Pawtucket’s Don Grebien and Cumberland’s Dan McKee.

But more than anything else, Diossa’s job is to provide the city with leadership it hasn’t seen in far too long and prove to critics that he’s more than just a good story.

And he’s off to an excellent start.

Diossa says he plans to push for more transparency in city government and has sworn off accepting campaign contributions from city employees and vendors. Now he needs to create a plan for economic development in a city that has been decimated in recent years.

Don’t count him out.
 

 

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