Kirby looks forward to meeting people in Ward 7 race

By JOHN HOWELL
Posted 5/19/16

Jack Kirby has run for mayor four times, all of them against Scott Avedisian, and he has still to knock on every door in the city. Kirby plans to be back on the ballot this year.

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Kirby looks forward to meeting people in Ward 7 race

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Jack Kirby has run for mayor four times, all of them against Scott Avedisian, and he has still to knock on every door in the city.

Kirby plans to be back on the ballot this year. This time, however, the race is contained to Ward 7, and he intends to walk the entire district.

Kirby is facing come competition for the seat now held by Kathleen Usler, who has chosen not to seek re-election. In his first bid for elective office, Steve McAllister is running for the seat. Charles “CJ” Donovan, who held the seat for 14 years before losing to Usler in a primary two years ago, is looking to make a comeback. And there are unconfirmed reports that Robert Germani may also run. All are seeking the Democratic nomination.

This is a new experience for Kirby. The drain layer and contractor who grew up in Warwick on Strawberryfield Road and remembers the woodlands and farms where the airport and houses are today was on more than one occasion the only Democrat prepared to give voters an alternative to Warwick’s popular Republican mayor.

Why is he doing it?

Now 64 and scaling back his work schedule to two to three days a week, Kirby said he has the time. What’s more, he wants to give back to the community where he grew up, ran his business, and raised a family.

There’s something else, too. Kirby confesses to being shy when he started his business. He had difficulty talking with people and sometimes felt ill at ease. That’s gone. Kirby enjoys meeting people, likes helping them, and says he’s around town every day. He figures he’s cut out for the job of councilman.

Kirby is a Warwick cheerleader. He says the city has “great” schools and police and fire departments. He thinks Usler has done a good job representing the ward. He’s especially impressed by Ward 5 Councilman Ed Ladouceur’s “endless amount of energy” and said of the council, “They all seem to work very hard at the job.”

As for the local issue of the Apponaug Circulator, Kirby is surprised by how little disruption construction has caused.

“It’s much better than I thought it was going to be,” he said.

Kirby believes two-way traffic on Veterans Memorial Drive will help businesses there, and questions why planners didn’t look to restore two-way traffic on Post Road in the village center, where most of the businesses are concentrated.

One issue that he harped on as a mayoral candidate, and remains a sore point, is the airport. He notes the airport expansion has taken hundreds of homes off city tax rolls.

“We’re not being compensated nearly as much as we should be,” he said.

As for disruption in the school system, Kirby concludes, “No one likes consolidating schools. On the other hand, we have to look at schools that are only half full.”

Kirby said he started working when he was 14. He’s held a variety of jobs. He worked for Buddy Bassett when he ran Doreen’s at Wilde’s Corner, the Whalen Bakery at Midland Mall, in maintenance for the Warwick Police Deportment, and at Narragansett Brewery, where his father worked. He bought his first dump truck for $500 in 1975 and three years later invested $3,500 in a backhoe. It was the beginning of his business, which hit a rough spot when the economy took a dive. During that period he worked for Mulholland Construction.

Kirby hasn’t put together a campaign team and is in the early stages of planning his first fundraiser. He doesn’t imagine he’ll have too much trouble recruiting volunteers. Kirby has five siblings, and is a father of six and grandfather of 10. Nor will he need to invest a lot in signs. He had plenty of signs in his races for mayor – maybe 60, maybe even more. With a little bit of work, they’ll be re-purposed for his race for council, although he doubts he’ll need all of them.

Comments

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  • Thecaptain

    I have never seen Jack at a council meeting. If he thinks there has been no disruption in Apponaug then have another cocktail. Clearly he has not been following the news and the violations that have been noted. Clearly he has not spoken to any of the business people in the area. Its time that we have ward representation from people that have a clue as to what is happening in Warwick. Just run for the sake of running, great philosophy. Ward 7 has not had a voice in 16 years. It doesn't appear that things will change in the near future.

    Friday, May 20, 2016 Report this

  • Scal1024

    I agree captain, when I read that line about traffic disruption I almost fell out of my chair. Has he not driven that way in the last year??? I just hope they don't schedule any debates for this council seat...as we know Mr. Kirby will not show up. His failed campaigns for mayor had nothing to do with a lack of funds, it was a lack of effort.

    The only time I would see Mr. Kirby is when he was gathering signatures to run, never during the actual campaign. It seems to me with atleast 3 (maybe 4) candidates running the voters will return CJ Donovan to that seat. In such a busy race name recognition will go a long way. Hopefully the voters use their heads this election season.

    Friday, May 20, 2016 Report this