The Political Season is Full Speed Ahead

The numbers have thinned a bit as East Providence will have just three contested September primaries. The remaining contested city council races are in wards 1, 2, 3 and 4. David Boucher and Michael Baptista won't challenge at-large councilwoman Tracy Capobianco as announced. Boucher and Baptista did not return nomination signature papers. Capobianco will be returned to the city council automatically.

In Ward 1, as previously reported, incumbent Mayor James Briden has announced that his busy law business precludes him from running for reelection. "My law firm now requires a greater time commitment from me than before and this has recently become a transitional year for me professionally. In addition to having an increasingly busier law practice, I am now managing the firm. For these reasons, it will not be possible for me to devote time to a campaign this year," said the Mayor. Former State Representative Edward Lynch called the Reporter to say that he was going to run for council but then changed his mind also. “I am sorry to say that I am withdrawing my name from the city council, Ward 1, race. I am just too busy with my business, which I have ran since 1971,” said Lynch's statement. “I am 73 years old now, and I have done a lot of thinking, along with my wife, Joanne, of just over 50 years married. It is time to forget politics and enjoy life with my family, which includes my four grandchildren."

Robert Britto, Robert Silva and David Sullivan remain in the Ward One race. Robert Silva issued a statement to the Reporter early on in the campaign: "I have chosen to run for city government to assist in bringing prosperity and stability back to our great city. It is no secret that East Providence has suffered turbulent times recently. I feel that my ambition and positive energy will help to elevate our position. I offer transparency, honesty and an emphasis on common will to our city. I know the citizens of East Providence are a strong and resilient people and I’m looking to harness that strength and resilience to bring the city back to where it belongs," said Silva. Britto also released a statement to the Reporter. "The city is heading in a positive direction, the bond rating is better, some good financial things are happening in the city," Britto continued. "I want to help continue this trend. I want to follow the 5 year plan and see that taxes don't go up," Britto said. And David Sullivan is also running. Sullivan has been active in politics and civic organizations in the city. ''If elected I would hope to be part of a team with a common vision for our city. I would work with local residents to make our city a more attractive place to live, better than our surrounding communities including Seekonk," Sullivan said. "There are a lot of business owners here in East Providence that commute to work because they don't want to live here. As a council member I would want to turn up the heat on our state officials to fix these awful roads. I would also promote business and jobs by reducing anti-business taxes like the inventory tax and the ridiculous car tax that folks get whacked with," added Sullivan.

In Ward 2, councilman Helda Cunha will be challenged by Brian Castro. "East Providence has significantly bounced back from the fiscal challenges it faced several years ago, and the future looks bright," said Cunha recently. "I am running again for exactly the same reasons I ran the first time: to continue my goal of making our city the prosperous and positive place it can be for our residents and families," Cunha told the Reporter. Cunhad had previously been the upset victor over former Mayor, Bruce Rogers. Castro also issued a brief statement upon deciding to seek the ward 2 council seat: " I'd just like to say that after getting my health back in order I have decided to get more active in my community again. I had a bout with cancer and I'm now doing well ... I want to try and make our taxpayer dollars better serve the entire community," said Castro. "I feel some poor choices have been made and I'd like to be a voice for the common every day people who make up our great city," Castro added. Previously announced candidate Eric Zollo has withdrawn from the Ward 2 race due to health concerns. “Citing personal health related reasons I am withdrawing my name from candidacy in the election of 2014. It is my firm belief that the City of East Providence is in need of strong leadership, compiled of elected officials who possess the ability to devote themselves to the city one hundred percent, as the people so rightfully deserve..." said the Zollo statement.

Ward 3 councilman Tom Rose will face three challengers. Newcomers Joseph Carter, Chelsea Tague and former Rose opponent Candy Seel will run against Rose. Chelsea Tague gave the Reporter a statement which said, "I am running for city council because I want to make a positive impact on the community I live in. My goals are to make this city the most attractive in the State to do business in and help create a thriving tourist industry on our most valuable resource - our waterfront," said Tague. "This will ensure we have all the assets necessary to prosper. We the people, seriously need to focus on improving and preserving our beautiful city. I would also like to take a fresh look at the way we fund education in our city. I am deeply concerned that so many of my former classmates have left RI to find work in other states. I feel we can do better. We are the fifth largest city in the State of Rhode Island and I am willing to do whatever it takes to make positive and long lasting changes," added Tague. Candy Seel, a regular attendee at city council meetings, ran two years ago and is a candidate again. In declaring her candidacy, Seel says she has "become increasingly frustrated with the governance of East Providence in recent years – especially with the incumbent Councilperson from Ward 3. From what I see, he (Rose) governs basically by interfering in day-to-day city administration, using cronyism and deference to special interests as his guide,” she says. “If I have the opportunity and honor to sit in that seat, I will govern as best I can for the benefit of all the people of East Providence, not just a special few. I will work with the other members of the Council and city administrators to make East Providence’s commercial and residential tax rates regionally competitive. Our tax rates discourage new businesses and residents from moving in and, unfortunately, encourage existing businesses and residents to move out. When our tax base grows, East Providence will grow along with it," said Seel. Newcomer to politics, Joseph Carter is planning on an active campaign. "I have lived in East Providence my entire life. I have been married to my wife Beth for 35 years. I am a lifelong parishioner of St. Brendan's Parish in Riverside. We have two married sons and five grand children. My hope is to make a difference in this fine city," said Carter. "Some of my goals and concerns for East Providence are, the improvement of our school system, finding ways to ease the tax burden on our tax payers and develop a plan to bring new business to our city, these are just a few of the issues I would like to discuss with the residents in ward 3. Working together we can improve and change things to reflect who we are as people and a city. I want to represent you in a fair and balanced way. I look forward to having a chance to meet you over the next few months and talk about your concerns and share with you mine. East providence is a city of hard working middle class families and I hope to be able to represent your voice," added Carter's statement. For his part, incumbent Tom Rose cites his view of progress in the city recently. "All fire station projects are done, we have all new police vehicles and some new highway trucks," Rose said. "Four years ago the city had a huge deficit. Now we have a $3.6M surplus. Our city is going in the right direction. My only reason for being on the council is to help out the city I love. It is a great feeling to help people and I want to continue doing so," added Rose.

The Ward 4 city council race may be a very spirited contest with outspoken incumbent Chrissy Rossi being challenged by current school committee member Tim Conley and Brian Faria. Conley issued a statement in which he praised some progress in the school department. "I would consider last year's highlights to include - hiring of Superintendent Mercer, rebuilding of the central administration, the budget process has significantly improved and streamlined, improvements made to special education, improvement and investments made in Oldham School, return of Middle School Sports, budget resources invested in technology and textbooks, improved NECAP Scores throughout the city highlighted by the improvement at Hennessey and East Providence High School," Conley said. "My desire to serve, as a member of the City Council is a desire to serve the city in encouraging creativity, promoting business and economic development, and improving the educational quality of our schools. I believe the role of the city council is to provide a strategic vision and be a champion of programs and policies that promote the long-term growth and prosperity of East Providence. I intend to meet with the residents of Riverside to get their feedback and thoughts on how East Providence should position itself to achieve its great potential and future success. The East Providence City Council needs to foster a culture of collaboration and innovation and not be mired in the micro-management of city departments that has proven to be ineffective and unproductive," said Conley. Also running is Brian Faria. Faria is the son of city Democratic Party chairman, John Faria. "I decided to run because I feel it's a critical time for Riverside, and while the rest of the city is moving forward, ward 4 seems to be caught in a definite power struggle between two factions. In the meanwhile, there is little getting done for our community", said Faria. Faria told the Reporter that even though his father is a political party chairman, he doesn't intend that to influence him. "I am not a politician nor have I ever held any office before. I would like to first say, if elected councilman of ward 4, I will not seek any further office. We need stability in ward 4, not musical chairs, unity not division, and I will work hard to accomplish that as your councilman," added Faria.

Rossi told the Reporter that she welcomes all challengers. "An informed public makes better decisions. I need to hear from constituents to make decisions on their behalf. The entire council should and that's why I am always available and willing to listen to voters. I am running to keep Riverside residents informed and to vote in their best interest," said Rossi. "My top 3 priorities for next year are a balanced budget, proper education funding, and economic development," said Rossi. "A lot of people are helping to move this city forward. I want to continue speaking out for this ward and this city," said Rossi.

Four of the school committee members are unopposed and will automatically be elected. Only one race - Riverside's Ward 4 - will have a contest. School Committee At Large Seat:

Incumbent school board chairman, Joel Monteiro is unopposed and will retain his at-large seat.

School Committee Ward One: Incumbent Elizabeth Clumpny will not seek reelection. That leaves former school board Chairman, Charles Tsonos, who will now run unopposed and will return to the school board. School Committee Ward Two: Incumbent Anthony Ferreira is seeking reelection. Gary Pascoa announced his intentions to run, but dropped out. Ferreira is now unopposed. School Committee Ward Three: Incumbent Richard "Spunky"Pimentel, citing illness, will no longer seek reelection. Newcomer Nate Cahoon will be elected in Ward 3. See story elsewhere in this issue "Spunk" Pimentel.

School Committee Ward Four: Incumbent Tim Conley will now run for the ward 4 city council seat against Chrissy Rossi. Those running for this seat are Karen Doucette, a school nurse-teacher in Providence and Jessica Beauchaine an active community organizer for school projects and fundraising in the city. "Being a representative on the school committee, I believe that I can help enhance the East Providence school community,” said Doucette in a press release. "I believe that the state of Rhode Island and city of East Providence need to move in a different direction. We need to change our focus away from the current national obsession with high-stakes standardized testing, uniformity, overcrowded classrooms, antagonism toward professional teachers. Instead a move towards richer and solid curricula, creativity, collaboration, respect for the teaching profession and a dedication to promoting the joy of learning in our schools and all our children. I feel doing this will entice highly productive teachers back into our district,” said Doucette. "For over 20 years, I have been involved in East Providence’s public schools, first as a student and now as a parent of two. I would like to help steer our school district in a positive direction," added Doucette.

"I want to continue my efforts to improve our schools and communication between parents, teachers, administrators and city officials. I feel it is at this time, as a public school parent and as a current member of two school PTA's I can be a more proactive voice for all students as a member of the next school committee," said Beauchaine in a statement. "I am dedicated to this school district and I am ready to take action in continuing to serve the students of East Providence. Over the past years, I have demonstrated this through my passion for helping students strive for educational excellence; whether that be raising funds for new computer systems & smart boards, joining a committee to secure funds and constructing a school playground build, contributing my thoughts and ideas at PTA meetings, volunteering my time at various school and community events, collecting box tops, walking the schools with local officials, contributing to the reinstatement of middle school sports, presiding over a very active East Providence non-profit organization and attending many city, school & budget committee meetings," continued Beauchaine.

In the State House, many are also unopposed. Representative Katherine Kazarian, D-Dist. 63, Representative Gregg Amore, D-Dist. 65, Senator William Conley, D-Dist. 18 and Senator Daniel Daponte, D-Dist 14 are unopposed. Representative Helio Melo, D-Dist 64 will be opposed by Robert Botelho in November. Representative Joy Hearn, Dist. 66 (Barrington/East Providence) may have an opponent in Barrington resident Joel Hellmann, running as an independent. Representative Helio Melo, D-Dist 64 will be opposed by Republican Robert Botelho in November.