City incumbents have it

Avedisian wins easily, vows to carry forward economic development

John Howell
Posted 11/6/14

After the ballots were counted, not all that much changed in Warwick, but it doesn’t mean that it won’t.

Mayor Scott Avedisian easily won an eighth term in office with a commanding 74.5 …

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City incumbents have it

Avedisian wins easily, vows to carry forward economic development

Posted

After the ballots were counted, not all that much changed in Warwick, but it doesn’t mean that it won’t.

Mayor Scott Avedisian easily won an eighth term in office with a commanding 74.5 percent of the vote in a three-way contest with John “Jack” Kirby, the endorsed Democrat and independent Kevin Eisemann.

Avedisian was back on the job yesterday, dressed casually in jeans and a sweater.

“There’s a lot to be done,” he said, between fielding calls on his cell phone and looking though papers he carried. “It’s all going to be economic development,” he said of the next two years, and at the top of his list is City Centre.

“It’s all good news,” he said, disclosing that he expects several announcements about development across from the airport in the area of the Interlink. He also is looking forward to developments along with construction of the circulator that will mean the revitalization of Apponaug.

On the issue of communications with the School Committee, which prompted a commission to develop improved relations, the mayor said he had talks with committee chair Bethany Furtado and that he will be pursuing more of them.

Avedisian is confident of a good relationship with Governor-elect Gina Raimondo. He served on her transition team when she was elected general treasurer in 2010 and as members of the Crossroads board of directors.

“We’ve always been able to get along with whomever [is governor],” he said.

Avedisian said he thought Cranston Mayor Allan Fung would have done better and left no doubt that he believes Moderate candidate Robert Healey hurt Fung’s chances of being governor.

The City Council, with the exception of Ward 7 Councilwoman-elect Kathleen Usler, who beat Charles Donovan Jr. in the September primary, is unchanged. Change could yet come when the council elects a president. President Donna Travis said yesterday she is a candidate for re-election. She said, with the election over, she would start talking with council members. She said she is looking to streamline meetings. She said there might be other candidates, but she knew of no formal efforts of other council members to line up support.

Tight school race

Mail ballots could influence at least one local race: District 1 for School Committee. When the polls closed, incumbent Eugene Nadeau led Dean Johnson by 62 votes with 411 mail ballots to be counted. In District 2, voters chose to return Terri Medeiros over Stephen Pope. Incumbent Bethany Furtado was unchallenged in District 3.

As of yesterday morning, Donna McDonald, director of elections, hadn’t heard when the state would count mail ballots in District 1. Overall, she said, the election ran smoothly, with far fewer calls than usual about where they could vote. She also reported favorable feedback about high school students as poll workers.

“They were fantastic, helpful, polite – they’re a treasure,” said Dorothy McCarthy of the Board of Canvassers. She had hoped to recruit 90 students but ended up with about 50. They were paid $150 each for the day.

In the state House and Senate races, Erin Lynch won re-election over independent James Roche for Senate District 31. In Senate District 30, incumbent William Walaska beat back the independent Steven Archer with 59.4 percent of the vote.

In the single House contest for the 22nd District, where incumbent Frank Ferri ran for lieutenant governor and lost the Democratic primary, Joseph Solomon Jr. beat Republican Ralph Leone with 64 percent of the vote.

Apart from his own race, Avedisian was heavily invested in the Ward 1 contest, where the council’s single Republican, Steven Colantuono, was matched with Democrat Patrick Maloney.

“Bob Cushman has lost again,” Avedisian said, as returns made it evident Colantuono was the winner. Former councilman Cushman was not on the ballot; Avedisian said Cushman had worked on Maloney’s campaign.

With the mayor at his side, Colantuono addressed cheering supporters at Avedisian headquarters. He thanked supporters and said he plans to “move forward to get things done that we’ve started.”

Lighting up in victory

Across town at the Elks Lodge, where most local Democrats congregated, Ward 3 Councilwoman Camille Vella-Wilkinson was in the parking lot with a group of her supporters. They all had cigars they were about to light in celebration.

Vella-Wilkinson was in a three-way contest with Republican John Falkowski and independent Harold Ouimette. Vella-Wilkinson won 51.8 percent of the vote. But, like Colantuono in Ward 1, Vella-Wilkinson faced others looking to oust her. Unsigned flyers critical of her selection of a council auditor were circulated throughout the ward this past summer.

“Despite all the negative and anonymous flyers, people do not respond well to negatives,” she said.

Inside the lodge, people were still congratulating Joseph Solomon Jr., who looked both relieved and stunned by his victory.

“It’s been exciting and adventurous,” he said of the campaign he started in June and had been diligently pursuing since.

Asked what he learned from the door-knocking and talking, Solomon said it confirmed his belief that Rhode Island needs to build business and manufacturing. “We need to get back to our [economic] roots.”

Would he be taking some time off, as he won’t be taking office until Jan. 6, 2015? The answer was that he won’t take a vacation, “but I might sleep in a little late.”

Solomon couldn’t say how many people worked on his campaign. His girlfriend, Nicole Mattiello, often accompanied him to city events, and his father, Joseph Solomon Sr., was frequently at his side. His father, the Ward 4 councilman, ran for re-election unopposed.

The son swept all four polling districts, including Warwick Neck, where there are a higher percentage of registered Republicans. It was thought GOP candidate Ralph Leone had an edge there. The final vote was Solomon 2,771, Leone 1,542.

On election morning, Leone was found outside Warwick Neck School, along with independent mayoral candidate Eisemann, Ward 5 Councilman Ed Ladouceur and Senator Walaska. Walaska’s daughter, Leslie Baxter, had just come out of the school where she learned she would need to go down the street to the former St. Mary’s Church to cast her ballot. The two polling locations aren’t far from each other, but Leone observed voters who lived nearer to one were being sent to vote at the other.

“Warwick politics don’t have to make sense,” he said. “It is what it is.”

As people started leaving the Elks Lodge, former Mayor Joseph Walsh stopped by. He made the rounds, congratulating the winners, including those who had run unopposed and talking about state races and changes in the General Assembly. Among them were Senator Michael McCaffrey, District 29, Ward 2 Councilman Thomas Chadronet, Ladouceur and Ward 6 Councilwoman Donna Travis, who were all unopposed.

Ladouceur put on a full court press, walking the ward, getting out signs and having volunteers with signs at each polling location. He said many constituents were surprised to see him but welcomed the opportunity to talk about issues. He ended his door-to-door campaign in the same neighborhood he did two years ago. The place had special significance, as at one home, the woman who greeted him said he was the first Democrat she voted for. Her reason was that he was the only candidate to knock on her door.

Ward 8 Councilman Joseph Gallucci likewise didn’t face a contest, although many of his constituents didn’t know that. The ballot listed Luelyn Jennings as the Republican candidate. Jennings ran two years ago and declared this year but, after qualifying, had her name withdrawn for personal reasons. It was too late for her name to be removed from the ballot.

But Gallucci didn’t take anything for granted and worked the ward. He ended up with 1,835 votes. She garnered 1,005.

Gallucci and his supporters gathered at the Greenwood Inn election night. In case anyone there didn’t get one earlier, Gallucci brought along some of his blue campaign potholders to give away. As always, Gallucci was ready to handle the hot issues.

Comments

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  • Justanidiot

    Meet the new gang.

    Same as the old gang.

    We got fooled again.

    Thursday, November 6, 2014 Report this

  • warwick10

    Unbelievable!!! People complaining, voting the same! Shocking. No.

    Thursday, November 6, 2014 Report this

  • Reality

    Vella=Wilkinson only won 51% of the vote.....no Vella people reacted positively to the flyers.....you won because Falkowski did nothing. He was a horrible candidate....he did nothing.

    Thursday, November 6, 2014 Report this

  • Ward5resident

    Yet another crushing blow to the Ward 1 bunch of anonymous flyer droppers. Did you guys (and gal) get a single candidate elected? Mahoney? Falkowski? How did the Petri write in campaign pan out? All the effort you put into your cowardly flyer drops and tearing down every politician, regardless of party affiliation, that doesn't agree with you 100% of the time. If you channeled that energy and actually tried to compromise, to give and take with the city's legislators, you would accomplish so much more.

    "The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally — not a 20 percent traitor” -Ronald Reagan

    Thursday, November 6, 2014 Report this

  • jfraser

    Yeah, four more years of crappy roads and crumbling infrastructure!

    Thursday, November 6, 2014 Report this

  • Reality

    Ward5resident aka Camille Vella-Wilkinson accept the fact you only got 51% of the vote. For a 2 term councilwoman you lousy voter total speaks for itself. If Falkowski worked you would have lost.

    Thursday, November 6, 2014 Report this

  • Ward5resident

    Wait, now I am Camille Vella-Wilkinson? I thought you said I was Ed Ladouceur? Maybe Falkowski would have won if your group of gutless flyer thugs hadn't poisoned his campaign? Did you think of that???

    Thursday, November 6, 2014 Report this

  • Reality

    Hey Vella.....stop your ranting......accept the fact your brand of liberalism wasn't accepted in Ward 3.....by the way when will you pass your ridiculous chicken resolution......hope you get another name than Ward5resident

    Thursday, November 6, 2014 Report this

  • Pmaloneyjr

    Hi everyone. I am not happy with the results but I ran a good campaign. I funded the entire campaign myself. I asked for no donations and took only one ($50) from someone who insisted they wanted to donate. I asked for no endorsements. I received one endorsement. I went up against my opponent, the mayor, the beacon and the Council 94 union and lost by just over 200 votes. I think that is respectable.

    There was a group of people passing out flyers giving out information about my candidate and I support their cause. They were trying actively to help Warwick (some may disagree with their methods) and they wanted me to win. I did not find the flyer to be negative. It actually stated several facts. Here they are for the record.

    1) Steve voted to raise taxes every year. (This is a well known fact)

    2) He voted against a $400,00 increase for the schools that was being sought for books and computers (This is a fact and is in public record)

    3) He introduced Legislation for $5 Million for roads but failed to get this to the council for a full vote. (Fact: Also, Public record. In fact, He admits this didn't happen on public record. To see this, Google search, "Is Warwick Councilman Rude?" You can watch a 2 minute video pulled from public video recorded by the City Council Public Access.)

    4) He voted for a 40% Raise for the Mayor's Cousin while other city workers agreed to no raise for 3 years. (Public record)

    5) Steve also has not told taxpayers if he will take the lifetime healthcare with no co-pay the city council voted to give him.

    I passed out a few of the flyers myself in an attempt to make voters aware of his voting record. I do not believe Bob was a member of the group passing out flyers this time around. I know he was involved in the past.

    I would like to make one thing clear to the mayor. Bob Cushman was not a part of my campaign. Bob Signed my paperwork to get onto the ballot like 49 other people. The only other interaction I had with Bob was to ask to use one of his Charts. The chart I used showed the increase in local tax dollars from 2008 to present which was public knowledge. It was a nice chart. He said I could use it. I don't remember us interacting other than this.

    I trink it is funny, laughable really that the mayor thought Bob was somehow involved. It is possible he is suffering from some sort of paranoia. I am a person how wants to fight to keep taxes under control and cut spending but I believe that is our only similarity.

    I made a call to the Warwick Beacon and asked John Howell why he didn't call to ask me if he was involved since he felt it was such a newsworthy quote. His response was that it was the mayor who said it. John Howell certainly couldn't pick up the phone to confirm what the Mayor said as fact, he would rather print it without checking the facts.

    Here are a few facts for people.

    1) John Howell attended the Pawtuxet Village Association Association Candidate Forum. He wrote a story about the Mayor's race and left all information about my race out other than saying we attended. I am sure John would have written about Steve if he provided even a hint of besting me at the event. I made Steve look bad. I think the highlight for the evening was when Steve said, I will make sure the lines get painted on Narragansett Parkway for the Gaspee Day parade and make sure funding from the city is available for the parade. I talked about the 70 businesses that were closed during a 30 minute drive through Warwick and the fact that residents were being taxed out of their homes. I also told people what I would do to increase business opportunities in Warwick.

    2) All candidates were given 2 questions to answer in a Beacon Profile but the Beacon only printed one of my answers and edited another answer but printed in it's entirety, Steve's responses to both questions.

    3) The Beacon wrote a 14 inch long column about how ineffective the city council is and I quote, "Council meetings are long, repetitive and often argumentative. Much of the meetings are spent going into detail at excruciating length under the guise of due diligence and saving the taxpayers’ money when the city administration, for the most part, has already provided the answers. Council business moves slowly and is frequently used for grandstanding or as a court of inquisition." and "it’s obvious that procedures need to change for the council to truly operate in the interests of the citizens"

    BUT…

    Surprise…

    Endorsed my opponent Steve Colantuono.

    And this is why all the incumbents won, the clear bias of the local Newspaper. (Freedom of speech and freedom of the press does not mean you can twist the facts and omit the truth.)

    In closing, I ran my own campaign, Bob Cushman was not involved, a group of people put out a fact sheet on the voting record of my opponent and I support them in their efforts, the mayor is paranoid, and the Beacon is biased.

    Friday, November 7, 2014 Report this

  • Ward5resident

    Mr Mahoney, the negative flyers distributed in your ward, bashing your opponent, were anonymous. I'm sure you know that people don't respond well to negative politics, so while all the things you said may or may not be true, this group of people hurt you more than they helped and should be near the top of your list of reasons why you lost. You ran a good campaign and should be proud of it, just be careful of the company you keep. For the record, I support Bob Cushman's efforts to bring fiscal sanity to our City, but disagree with the way his supporters conduct themselves. There are many hard working politicians in this city and there are tons of things to be proud of. We all need to work together instead of tearing eachother down.

    Friday, November 7, 2014 Report this

  • HerbTokerman

    Donna travis is a disgrace and unamerican.

    a shame that she went unopposed, it's a sad day when someone who wants to inhibit free speech and censor opposing views in public meetings gets re-elected.

    Friday, November 7, 2014 Report this

  • Reality

    Mr. Maloney .....I thought you comments were right on. I thought it was funny that Ward5resident castigated the flyers for being negative but Patrick checked the documentation and found them accurate. Ms. Vella=Wilkinson can't attack the facts so she castigates the messengers. I also checked the flyer when I received it and found it to be accurate. Certain members of the city council don't want the facts to be known e.g. the hiring of a city council auditor that is not qualified. They want their little games to go on with no push back. I won't happen.

    This city will get better when we vote out those city councilors who vote their best interests and not their constituents.

    Friday, November 7, 2014 Report this

  • Unionthug

    Classy Fenceman, very classy.

    Monday, November 10, 2014 Report this

  • RoyDempsey

    @steveD. Just a thought, take a look at your past comments before castigating others.

    Tuesday, November 11, 2014 Report this