Over the next six weeks, leading up to a September primary, candidates running for Mayor of Providence have not only an opportunity — but in fact an obligation — to inform voters as to where they stand on critical issues facing the capital city.
We commend the four Democrats hopefuls in the race – David Cicilline, David Igliozzi, Keven A. McKenna, and Joseph Paolino, Jr. – for agreeing to square-off in a series of weekly debates to be sponsored by the Providence League of Women Voters.
We urge the voting public to get out to at least one of these debates and take advantage of the opportunity to put a tough and specific question to our next mayor, whoever that individual might be.
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Maybe you live in the city and have a question of relevance to your neighborhood. Or maybe you work in the city and you have a question regarding the city’s economic environment.
And if you can’t think of a question, here are some you are welcome to borrow.
• What sort of economic development projects do you consider to be viable over the next couple of years?
• Do you expect to see a new office building built downtown anytime soon and if so, where exactly do you expect that to be?
• Do you expect to see a new hotel built downtown anytime soon?
• What do you make of Mayor Cianci’s New Cities proposal – is it something you will pursue?
• What are reasonable expectations for the Providence waterfront?
• Do you support plans to significantly increase the seating capacity of the Dunkin’ Donuts Center and to connect that building by skywalk to the Holiday Inn and the Convention Center? If you do support such a plan, how should funding for it break down between the city and the state?
• What specific steps can be taken to increase the number of people living downtown?
• Will we see any new public parking garages in the city anytime soon?
• How will you help empower neighborhood groups that are looking to clean up some of the more battered corners of the city?
• How far is the city’s public school system from being a draw, rather than a deterrent and what are at least a couple of proposals you have that would immediately improve the city’s public schools?
• What steps do you plan to take to improve the image of the city’s police department?
• Do you expect to make sweeping changes at City Hall? For example, what percentage of people who now work there can expect to be receiving pink slips upon your arrival?
• How would you assess the current status of the city’s unfunded pension liability – and what will you do to address the situation?
So ask away. Because if a candidate for mayor doesn’t have an answer for any
of the above questions – they shouldn’t be running for the office in the first
place.
Good work on lead hazards
With so much news out of Providence of late having centered on Plunder Dome and the political fallout in its wake, it would be unfortunate if some positive developments in the city went unnoticed.
One such development occurred last week when a national partnership, Cities United for Science Progress (CUSP) recognized Providence for its lead abatement and education program.
CUSP bestowed upon the capital city a "2002 Best Practice Award" in honor of the city’s "extraordinary efforts to propose or implement effective solutions to make your city neighborhoods lead-safe."
Providence’s housing stock is among the oldest in the nation. Lead paint is a very serious problem here. But the city has worked hard toward addressing the problem. And through aggressive abatement and education programs, it has seen significant results. According to Mayor Cianci, Providence has experienced a decline in the numbers of children testing positive for lead, falling from 40 percent in 1994 to 16 percent more recently.
That’s encouraging news. We hope that Cianci’s successor will remain as vigilant on the issue of lead paint and that the progress that has been made of late marks the beginning of a long-term commitment to solving the lead paint problem.
