New bank HQ open for business

By Tim Forsberg
Posted 8/16/18

By TIM FORSBERG It's been 882 days since Citizens Bank publicly announced that they were building a $285 million campus off Greenville Avenue in Johnston, and since that time the company has moved mountains to complete the project. At a ribbon cutting

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New bank HQ open for business

Posted

It’s been 882 days since Citizens Bank publicly announced that they were building a $285 million campus off Greenville Avenue in Johnston, and since that time the company has moved mountains to complete the project.

At a ribbon cutting and flag raising ceremony held at the campus on Wednesday, bank representatives, employees, public officials and those involved in the project officially announced the opening of the buildings. The commemoration marked the end to one of the largest commercial developments in the state in the last 10 years.

“To actually bring a project of this size and scope in on time and almost exactly on budget – there was a little more rock on the site than we counted on – is really a tremendous accomplishment,” said Bruce Van Saun, chairman and CEO of Citizens Financial Group. “I want to thank the hundreds of men and women who, through their hard work and know-how, literally transformed this site, which was just a bunch of woods, into a vibrant work environment. That really epitomizes to a large degree our own transformation at Citizens to becoming a top performing bank that’s focused on helping our customers, colleagues and communities reach their potential.”

The amenities at the 123-acre site read more like a resort than that of an office. The campus’s state-of-the-art facilities account for a total of 424,763 gross square feet of office and meeting space, as well as a call center, which were designed to improve efficiency, foster teamwork while utilizing natural light.

“As I’ve said many, many times, Rhode Island is on the move. By any measure of our economy – jobs, wages, cranes, projects, development, investment – we’re on the move and we have economic momentum like we haven’t had in decades, and this is one example of that,” said Governor Gina Raimondo during the ceremony. “We dug in and said we believed in Rhode Island, and look what was accomplished because of that commitment”

The campus hosts 2,414 parking spaces with 12 electric car charging stations. A total of 3,000 desks are available for the more than 3,200 employees who will soon work at the campus. The cafeteria, larger than many restaurants in town, offers full food and beverage services. An outdoor seating area for hundreds is completed with picnic tables and water fountains.

“Rhode Island is open for business and we welcome you, the business men and women, as well as the corporations that want to make Rhode Island their home. When you come to Rhode Island and dip your toe in the business climate, you will end up investing your dollars in our great state,” said Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena. “I am very excited about Citizens Bank making Johnston their new home. This project is living proof of what happens when the town, state and a private corporation work together for good, sound economic development.”

Amenities at the campus include a Cigna Wellness Center, fitness center, technology bar, a bank branch, coffee bar, a learning and innovation center, and a colleague art gallery. Outside, there’s a clock tower standing 55 feet tall and visible from Route 295, a rain garden, fire pits and barbecue grills, two bocce courts, two basketball courts, a tennis court, volleyball court, softball field and soccer field. There are three walking trails varying in length from just over a quarter of a mile to more than a mile and a half. All outdoor recreation areas are available for both employee and public use.

“For me, Citizens is not just a bank in Rhode Island, it is Rhode Island. Today, we are celebrating that great heritage of investment in our community, not just financial investment but investment in our people, in jobs, in communities, in all those things that have made this institution and corporation remarkable,” said Senator Jack Reed. “This ribbon cutting is another symbol of a strong commitment by Citizens to the State of Rhode Island. It’s also a recognition of this extraordinary organization and its people.”

The campus property preserves 60 acres of woodlands and wetlands. A four-acre onsite landfill, historically known as Tucker’s Dump, was removed, with nearly 60,000 tons of material excavated to clean the site. Construction required the removal of 550,000 cubic yards of material, such as boulders and ledge. Blasting at the site required 83,000 pounds of explosives. Citizens incorporated an extensive storm water system for rainwater collection to protect wetlands and will use rainwater to irrigate landscaping, which was meticulously completed by Central Nurseries of Johnston.

“As a Rhode Islander, I am extremely proud of the leadership that the state has shown along with the mayor in getting this project smoothly done,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. “Governor Raimondo’s leadership and the mayor’s leadership were paramount and their teams did the jobs that they needed to do and the result is a success that I think Rhode Islanders can talk about for some time.”

Infrastructure improvements in the area included installation of nearly 7,000 linear feet of new sewer lines by the Narragansett Bay Commission at a cost of more than $8.5 million. A new set of on- and off-ramps for Route 295, both north and south, was completed at a cost of approximately $7 million, with the bank paying about $4 million and the state paying $3 million.

“We all know what a wonderful presence Citizens has here in our state. It’s not just about the banking and the business and dollars and cents…we see Citizens invest in our communities in so many different community projects and worthwhile endeavors,” said Congressman James Langevin.

Bank officials state that the influx of more than 3,000 employees will be a boon to local businesses, as will additional highway access provided to more potential customers. Tuesday’s ceremony saw well over 1,000 attendees, yet congestion on the newly repaved Greenville Avenue near the campus entrance was minimal.

“What’s really, I think, exciting about this facility is that it’s really a model for the way that development should happen in cities all across the country. You have a sustainable business model, you have good paying union jobs that created this facility, you have a great partnership between the local, state and federal government, preservation of the environment with sustainable best practices. It’s a real model,” said Congressman David Cicilline.

Associates will now begin moving into the facility on a rolling basis, which should be completed by October. Colleagues working at the campus are being consolidated from across the state, primarily from Warwick and a leased Davol facility in Cranston. Providence will remain as Citizens headquarters, and the bank employs approximately 5,300 colleagues in the state.

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  • bendover

    Other than Mayor Polisena, why are any of these photo-op seeking stooges at this ribbon cutting? You idiots had NOTHING to with this while the Mayor worked on this issue right from the very beginning....Memo to the Queen of Raimondi, nice job on the Jaguar/Land Rover manufacturing plant...OH, the 7,500 jobs associated with it are headed to Georgia, we don't want to build cars here...Never even an RFP for any car company to come here in the last 30+ years..WELL, there is always the PAWSOX.....lol!

    Friday, August 17, 2018 Report this

  • Justanidiot

    The WOOSOX don't you mean.

    Friday, August 17, 2018 Report this

  • richardcorrente

    Dear bendover,

    You can't blame the other politicians in that picture. A photo-opp is a photo-opp.

    What kills me is the fact that when it was happening I called the relocation team at Citizens to find out how close Mayor Avedisian came to keeping 700 Warwick-based employees on Jefferson Blvd. I actually got sick to my stomach when the lady said "Wanna know the truth? No one called us. No one even returned OUR calls when we called them!" As Mayor, I would have called them, met with them, courted them, negotiated with them, bought them lunch, kissed their ring, incentivized them, or ANYTHING ELSE (legally) to keep them here in Warwick. 700 employees spend A LOT of money! I would have worked on it relentlessly. That is what a servant-Mayor does. That's what Johnston Mayor Polisena did. No organization would take 700 employees out of MY City without a mammoth attempt to keep them here on my part, if I was the Mayor of Warwick.

    I am so sorry that our Mayor wasn't the smart businessman Johnston's Mayor Polisena is.

    Happy August everyone.

    Rick Corrente

    The Taxpayers Mayor

    Friday, August 17, 2018 Report this

  • CrickeeRaven

    bendover, I'm sure you know by now that the make-believe mayor's stories are just that -- stories. The total lack of verifiable facts is what proves it: He spoke with some anonymous "lady" at Citizens who willingly talked about the company's dealings with the city?

    That has the same chance of being true as his chance of being elected: Zero.

    And Mayor Polisena has actually won elections, maintained level funding of the school department, and made many improvements to his town -- none of which the make-believe mayor could ever do.

    By comparison, the only "success" the make-believe mayor has achieved is in continually proving himself a disgrace of a candidate and humiliating himself with his pathetic comments.

    The louder and more delusional he gets, the more the make-believe mayor ensures that honest, taxpaying voters will overwhelmingly reject his candidacy again on Sept. 12.

    Saturday, August 18, 2018 Report this

  • richardcorrente

    Dear Readers,

    This is going to be fun.

    CrickeeRaven is at it again. Trying to discredit me with Fake News.

    1. He/she says my stories are "just that - stories". That "lady" from the Citizens Bank relocation team that I spoke to, never told me about Citizens "dealings" with Warwick as CrickeeRaven accused. She just mentioned that there weren't any. Not even a call back.

    2. He/she says that "his chance of being elected: Zero". Really? Tell THAT to the 14,000+ voters that voted for me in 2016 or the thousands of voters I have spoken to since. They have a different opinion.

    3. CrickeeRaven says Mayor Polisena made "many improvements to his town none of which the make-believe mayor could ever do." How does this anonymous critic have a clue what I can do. He/she has attacked literally everything I have ever said or done but doesn't have the integrity to identify himself...or herself... or even tell the reader if he or she is even of legal age.

    Fake news. Fake sources. Fake people. Fake names.

    And if someone were such a coward that he/she would need to hide behind a fake name, who in their right mind would pick a name that is a combination of a "Cricket" and a "Raven" ???

    C'mon Mark. You know better than that! Why don't you just come clean? Or are you THAT much of a coward?

    Happy August everyone.

    Rick Corrente

    The Taxpayers Mayor

    Monday, August 20, 2018 Report this

  • CrickeeRaven

    As he has so often, the make-believe mayor resorts to name-calling and attacking others for using screen names on a website that he does not own or manage.

    "How does this anonymous critic have a clue what I can do [?]"

    The make-believe mayor has repeatedly made statements on this website in support of his futile candidacy that were later proven to be lies

    "C'mon Mark..."

    The make-believe mayor has been invited to contact the person he thinks is using this screen name and learn that, once again, he is wrong -- yet he has not. This proves that he is the coward, not commenters who have repeatedly proven his statements to be false with publicly available and easily verifiable information.

    All he has ever shown a capability to do is compound his lies with more and more humiliating behavior that will result in an overwhelming loss for him on Sept. 12.

    Monday, August 20, 2018 Report this

  • Scal1024

    Rick, you never asked the woman from Citizens Bank (that you "spoke to") what her name was? Wouldn't that be important information so you could tell voters exactly where you got your information from? You have the audacity to claim others use "fake sources". You made up entirely a conversation that you had with a fictional "lady", in order to try and make your point. Does it get anymore unstable than that?

    Does Citizens Bank usually discuss client information over the phone to an unelected resident (I'd say taxpayer but that term doesn't seem to apply) very often? Why would they tell you who they have and have not spoken with? You are a failed candidate with a history of tax delinquency. You are not the Mayor. You are not on the City Council. You are irrelevant to this entire issue. Why would Citizens Bank feel the need to even answer your call? You DO NOT represent the city, nor do you have ANYTHING to do with policy. Keep clinging to those "14,000" Rick. Those 14,000 voters have raised a whopping $34 in your campaign bank account. How lazy must a candidate be to assume every voter that cast a vote for them in 2016, will return to do the same in 2018? The unraveling of the Corrente campaign is upon us. I can't wait until voters show this hack the door on primary day!

    Monday, August 20, 2018 Report this

  • bendover

    GOOD LORD DICK, you need help...I would suggest one of these 3 psychiatrists to help you with the voices and delusional thoughts...Dr.Alfred Bellows, Dr. Leo Marvin or Dr. Frasier Crane. They have a great deal of success treating such symptoms with any array of psychotropic drugs. Good luck with your treatment.

    Monday, August 20, 2018 Report this

  • richardcorrente

    dear Scal1024,

    I get it. You don't like me. That's OK. But you have criticized literally everything I have ever said or done. When I spent "over $40,000 of my own money" in the last election you criticized me. When I didn't in this election, (mostly because I already had plenty of signs) you criticized me. The point that you NEVER mentioned, oddly enough, is the fact that I never took a Political Action Committee (PAC) check. Avedisian took 237 of them and Solomon took even more, (I think), and you, of all people know Scal, that there has NEVER been one PAC check given without strings attached. NEVER has a PAC said "We don't expect ANYTHING in return." We don't expect ANY preferential treatment." "Just take our money and when we want something in return, act fairly. Don't vote in ANY WAY that isn't in the taxpayers best interest."

    Scal I don't take PAC money. Won't it be refreshing to have a Mayor that is only obligated to the 80,000 taxpayers that are paying the tab and not the political insiders?

    Why don't you attack Joe Solomon? You say that you are NOT a henchman for him but you never mention how he lives in Ward 5 but he "claims" he lives in Ward 4, at 180 Shawomet Ave. just so he can represent Ward 4.

    You never mention how from 2015 to 2017 his house at 21 Crawford only went up in assessed value by only $4,400 when EVERY OTHER HOUSE ON CRAWFORD went up by $21,700 to $61,100, and the average Scal, was over $38,000!

    You never mention how his car dealership at 1061 West Shore Rd. is tax assessed at only $168,900, less than he paid for it 29 years ago!! And now he's selling it for more than three times that amount!

    You never mention the other house he owns at 54 Hess and how that house "somehow" went DOWN in assessed value by $39,700. (from 2015 to 2017)

    Scal, what about that house at 180 Shawomet? The tax assessed value of that Bay-front home "somehow" went DOWN by $25,700 when his neighbor's houses went UP by a similar amount.

    Joe also owns 101061 Warwick Ave. That commercial building "somehow" went DOWN as well in the 2015 - 2017 years by over $20,000!!!

    All this from a guy that just slapped the taxpayers with the LARGEST TAX INCREASE ALLOWED BY LAW!!!

    Scal; how can you possibly say that you are NOT a henchman for Joe Solomon if you keep ignoring what he is doing to the 80,000 taxpayers that are paying the tab? Huh Scal?

    Taxpayers are paying outrageous tax increases and Joe Solomon voted for every tax increase THIS CENTURY! Joe Solomon wants taxes to go up on everybody in Warwick...except him of course.

    I have a plan Scal to "Cut Taxes - Cut Spending". You can read all about it at "correnteformayor.com". I campaigned for over 700 days in a row, spent over $40,000 of my own money, rallied the 80,000 taxpayers that are paying the tab and got 29 taxes CUT from the 2017 budget, and I wasn't even in office...yet.

    Warwick taxpayers love me Scal. They tell me EVERY DAY. If you don't, I can live with that.

    Happy August Scal1024.

    Happy August everyone.

    Rick Corrente

    The Taxpayers Mayor

    Monday, August 20, 2018 Report this

  • CrickeeRaven

    As predicted, the make-believe mayor only further proves his ability to humiliate himself with more false claims (Avedisian collected 28 PAC contributions in 2016, not 237), lazy statements (he can't be bothered to actually check campaign finance records before attacking Joe Solomon), and delusional ideas (Warwick taxpayers love me.")

    His overwhelming loss on Sept. 12 will prove that honest, taxpaying voters will not be fooled by this fool of a candidate.

    Monday, August 20, 2018 Report this

  • Scal1024

    Rick, don't get confused. It was you who touted the $40,000 figure as a sign of strength in the 2016 election. I didn't bring that figure up until after you did. I have been consistent, Rick. I didn't think money was your problem in 2016. It was the mediocre campaign you ran. You however, did say that $40,000 was a sign of strength and support. So again I ask you. Is the $34 in your campaign account a sign of your campaigns "strength"? The good news is we don't have to wait long to find out. Soon the voters of Warwick will once again reject your failure of a campaign.

    To remind readers Rick Corrente pointed veiled blame at Mayor Avedisian after the drowning death of a young child in the last election, he said Mayor Avedisian didn't know about schools because he didn't attend soccer games/parent teacher conferences and didn't have a family of his own (strange wording), he accused Mayor Avedisian of rigging the property tax system by lowering taxes "for friends and raising taxes on enemies" (imagine the audacity to accuse the Mayor of that while Rick Corrente wasn't even paying property taxes). After all of this tough talk Rick Corrente had a debate with Mayor Avedisian and how many times did he raise those issues to the Mayor Avedisians face? ZERO! For all of the tough talk of Rick Corrente, when he finally faced Mayor Avedisian he got his clock cleaned. Why is it he could tell channel 12 he had more experience than Mayor Avedisian because he had a family, but he couldn't tell Mayor Avedisian to his face? Gutless.

    When Rick Corrente says I don't like him, he is partially correct. I don't know everything about him, but what I do know and have verified? He is a liar and I do not like liars. Anyone who can blatantly pay their car taxes late, have it documented publicly online, and still deny it is a trained liar. Anyone who can lie about not paying property taxes at all, when it publicly states 3 different parties have paid those property taxes for him cannot be trusted. This is why I call out Rick Corrente. I don't work for anyone (Corrente said I worked for Avedisian, now Solomon) I just can't stand liars who portray themselves as something they're not. As far as I'm concerned a tax delinquent like Rick Corrente crusading as some sort of taxpayers advocate insults the intelligence of voters. He's already starting with the excuses which tells you how confident he is in his failing campaign. Primary day can't come soon enough. When it does, Rick Corrente will have only himself to blame for being a 2-time election loser.

    Monday, August 20, 2018 Report this

  • Justanidiot

    "didn't have a family of his own" is master mayer's way of blowing the gay whistle.

    Tuesday, August 21, 2018 Report this

  • richardcorrente

    Daer Scal1024,

    You never answered MY question. How many (few) votes do you predict I will get on Sept. 12?

    C'mon Scal! The readers want to know.

    Happy predictions Scal.

    Happy August everyone.

    Rick Corrente

    The Taxpayers Mayor

    Tuesday, August 21, 2018 Report this

  • Scal1024

    Rick, you act as if I'm afraid of predicting how many votes you'll get in the primary. Why would I care? I just didn't think it was that important to answer, especially when you don't ever really answer any of my questions. Its not going to be the 14,000 votes you claim you're starting with. In fact, I would venture a guess and say less than half of that 14,000. Fewer than 7,000 is my guess and I like my chances.

    My turn...

    -Which line item in the budget will you cut to fund your "buy a house, get a check" plan?

    - Where will the money come from to pay 50% of seniors/veterans car taxes? Have you done a study to look into how many seniors would be eligible? What about veterans? Without knowing the cost how do you know you'll be able to fund this? Have you studied the median age in Warwick, or studied the population? These things matter.

    Rick, have you visited citizenselfservice.com ? This is where voters can see your record of tax delinquency. It is there in print. You talk about "fake news", "fake sources" well I just gave you my sources. It is the website the city uses to track such data. What is your proof Rick? Shouldn't you be able to show payment before the due dates in question? Why not put it up on your website and let the voters see it?

    The entire tone of Rick Corrente has changed as he now realizes his hopes of becoming mayor are once again dwindling. He went from being the candidate who only wants to talk about his ideas, to the candidate thats trying to smear Joe Solomons name. This of course, one year after Rick called Joe Solomon "a class act" ajd said he led "The hardest working City Council Warwick has ever known." Now that he's way behind in the primary, Corrente has turned to gutter tactics. Rick said I criticized him when he loaned his campaign $40,000. That is a lie. I criticized him for loaning his campaign $40,000 while paying his car taxes consistently late. That is not the behavior of a Mayor. My problem isn't the $40,000, its Corrente loaning his campaign that kind of money while he also had 3 different parties paying his property taxes for him. These are the reasons why I believe Rick Corrente will lose convincingly in the primary. His campaign has $34 in the bank, he is trotting out the exact same talking points that lost 2 years ago, and he has now resorted to making up conspiracy theories about Joe Solomon. I would say the Corrente campaign is getting very desperate, and since he can't win this campaign on merit, he is throwing whatever he can at the wall in a race to the bottom. Voters will once again reject this fraud, making him a 2 time election loser.

    Tuesday, August 21, 2018 Report this

  • CrickeeRaven

    Scal, just one correction: The make-believe mayor now has $24 in his campaign account after paying about $10 in bank fees: https://bit.ly/2vORzye

    Tuesday, August 21, 2018 Report this

  • Scal1024

    Thank you for the correction, Crickee. I apologize for my outdated numbers. $24 worth of support, oh boy...Something tells me less than 7,000 votes (my prediction) might be a bit on the high side for Rick Corrente...

    Tuesday, August 21, 2018 Report this

  • CrickeeRaven

    Scal, while it's difficult to make predictions about the primary vote, I think you're correct to predict fewer than 7,000 votes for the make-believe mayor. My guess would actually be far fewer than that -- here's why:

    In the last off-Presidential election year Democratic primary in Warwick in 2014, the Democratic primary was decided among 7,000 votes while the Republican primary had 5,000.

    Now, neither of the Democratic candidates spent a lot of money or had the visibility or organization to support a get out the vote effort of someone like Joe Solomon. Also, this year there is no Republican primary for mayor.

    As a result, it would be fair to estimate that the Democratic primary for mayor could draw close to 15,000 votes.

    Solomon and Carbone are 1-2 in campaign money, which means they can advertise and organize effectively and run GOTV operations -- though Solomon is far ahead of Carbone.

    So, of those estimated 15,000 votes, I'd expect Solomon to get somewhere close to 8,200, with Carbone getting 3,200, and the make-believe mayor finishing a distant third with 2,500, ahead of only Ferla.

    And all of that is aside from the long list of defects in his candidacy that the make-believe mayor has repeatedly and willingly proven, all by himself, through his disgraceful campaign behavior on this website.

    Like you, I look forward to joining thousands of honest, taxpaying voters in rejecting his candidacy again on Sept. 12.

    Tuesday, August 21, 2018 Report this

  • Scal1024

    Crickee, I will admit I hadn't looked into previous years primaries to really get a sense of vote totals, thank you for sharing that. My gut tells me it'll be fewer than 3,000 but I'd hate for the make believe Mayor to claim some sort of "win" or moral victory on election day based on that. Regardless, the important thing is Rick Corrente and his empty ideas will be defeated on Sept 12th. His erratic comments are coming in at record speed. He knows its over.

    Tuesday, August 21, 2018 Report this

  • richardcorrente

    Scal1024,

    You predict "under 7,000 votes" for me and then, 2 hours later you say "less than 7,000 votes might be on the high side". (whatever that means). Then, 2 hours after that, you say "Fewer than 3,000". What does THAT mean? I'm guessing that if I get anywhere from 1 to 6,999 votes Scal1024 will declare that he/she "nailed it!"

    Here is the reality:

    I will win the election when the first person votes for me. "Cut Taxes - Cut Spending" is gaining strength every time someone repeats those words. You anonymous critics never realized that it's the message, not the man that's important. My message got 29 taxes cut from the 2017 budget and I am proud to be the man who delivered that message to the 80,000 taxpayers that are paying the tab. I won the last election even though I didn't defeat Avedisian. I will win this one too, and an acting Mayor who just gave Warwick taxpayers THE LARGEST TAX INCREASE ALLOWED BY LAW is a beatable opponent.

    See you at the polls. By the way, do you care to make a REAL prediction? Let the readers know how accurate you and CrickeeRaven are at predicting my number of votes. You said that I thought you were "afraid to predict how many votes you'll get in the primary". Are you? If you aren't, what is your number? CrickeeRaven, what is yours?

    Happy August everyone.

    Rick Corrente

    The Taxpayers Mayor

    Tuesday, August 21, 2018 Report this

  • CrickeeRaven

    Well, Scal, the make-believe mayor is already claiming that he will win "with the first vote," so he'd only be compounding his defects as a candidate by thinking he's earned a moral victory over you if your predictions are slightly off.

    More voters will support other candidates than him. That's the bottom line.

    I think Solomon wins easily, and gets a majority of votes. That said, it will be interesting to see the result. If he finishes first but with, say, 40 percent of the vote, that could be a sign that he doesn't have the kind of support needed to defeat Stenhouse by a huge margin in November.

    Like you, I eagerly await Sept. 12 and the inevitable, crushing, humiliating defeat of the make-believe mayor.

    Tuesday, August 21, 2018 Report this

  • CrickeeRaven

    The make-believe mayor claims his recycled and already-failed slogan "is gaining strength every time someone repeats those words."

    As he is the only person repeating his tired slogan, the only "strength" it has is further proving how much of a delusional, defective candidate he is.

    The proven loser of a candidate will only continue humiliating himself in his future comments.

    Tuesday, August 21, 2018 Report this

  • Scal1024

    Oh yes, Rick Correntes slogan is gaining traction each time it is said. This was the argument he made in 2016 as well. He said Mayor Avedisian and the City Council were so terrified of his campaign that they "cut" taxes (they didn't cut taxes) because of the political realties.

    If Rick Corrente is going to "take credit" for the 2016 tax rate, shouldn't he also be taking the blame for this years maximum tax increase we just received? You can't have it both ways, Rick. In fact, had Corrente been paying attention he would know the decision to "hold the line" on taxes in '16 is DIRECTLY RELATED to the max tax increase we just received. That is reckless and irresponsible budgeting, and Rick Corrente is claiming he was on the front lines for it. Even when he's trying to promote himself, he ends up doing much more harm. Rick Corrente wants to beat Joe Solomon in the 2018 Mayors race. The problem is Rick can't even defeat the old Rick Corrente from 2016 Mayors race. Rick Corrente sees the writing on the wall, he is desperately trying to spin his overwhelming rejection "as a win". You know how people will let you know your message won, Rick? BY CASTING A VOTE FOR YOU in the Sept primary. That is the only measure of success in elections. All of this other garbage you speak of is NONSENSE! No matter how hard Rick Corrente tries to spin it, he is weeks away from becoming a 2 time election loser.

    Wednesday, August 22, 2018 Report this

  • Cat2222

    I am confused. Isn't a winner determined by how many votes they receive? How can you win with only 1 vote? Wouldn't that mean that the other candidates must have zero votes in order for RC to win?

    Wednesday, August 22, 2018 Report this

  • richardcorrente

    Dear Cat2222,

    That depends on if you are talking about the man or the message. For the message to win, any amount of votes is a win, and the more votes the stronger the message; therefore the stronger the "win". I have always said that the "Cut Taxes - Cut Spending" message is more important than the man. That's why I have dedicated years of my life and tens of thousands of my dollars to deliver it.

    As far as what person will win the Democratic Primary, if 100% of the voters come to the polls, I believe I will crush my opponents. The response I get every day from taxpayers across Warwick is overwhelmingly positive for me and I have heard plenty of negatives about my opponents. But you and I both know, Cat2222, that primary races are never very well attended. If only the political insiders show up, just the ones that benefited from the "largest tax increase allowed by law" that acting Mayor Joe Solomon just hit the taxpayers with, then he will win. Those votes are bought and paid for with taxpayers money.

    You're right Cat2222. In that race the winner is the person with the most votes. The reason I was pressing Scal1024 to give an honest prediction is to gage how accurate he might be, but he has now given three wildly different answers ("7,000", "7,000 might be on the high side", and "fewer than 3,000") followed by "I don't have any idea what he (Corrente) is asking." I was hoping to get a credible answer from Scal1024.

    As you can see, I didn't. Doesn't that make you question some of his other claims?

    Happy August Cat2222

    Happy August everyone.

    Rick Corrente

    The Taxpayers Mayor

    Wednesday, August 22, 2018 Report this

  • CrickeeRaven

    When posed with a simple question, "Isn't a winner determined by how many votes they receive?" the make-believe mayor replies with a characteristically delusional answer: "It depends."

    No, Cat, we know that it does not "depend."

    Whoever gets the highest number of votes in an election is the winner. Anyone else is a loser.

    The make-believe mayor eventually concedes that the first point is true, while disputing the second with the argument that because he's the candidate, his "message" would actually "win."

    He is wrong about that, just as he is wrong in questioning another commenter's credibility -- especially in light of the many, many times that his statements have been proven to be lies.

    I eagerly look forward to joining you and thousands of our neighbors in overwhelmingly rejecting his candidacy again on Sept. 12.

    Wednesday, August 22, 2018 Report this

  • Cat2222

    " But you and I both know, Cat2222, that primary races are never very well attended. If only the political insiders show up, just the ones that benefited from the "largest tax increase allowed by law" that acting Mayor Joe Solomon just hit the taxpayers with, then he will win. Those votes are bought and paid for with taxpayers money. "

    LAME COPOUT

    Thursday, August 23, 2018 Report this

  • CrickeeRaven

    Cat, you again expose a glaring defect in the make-believe mayor's statements.

    As you rightly state, he's offering a lame cop-out for his inevitable loss.

    He's conceding defeat, while at the same time still trying to deny that he is the reason for his upcoming defeat.

    Again, though, he's wrong. It is his own pathetic behavior as a candidate that will lead to his defeat on Sept. 12 -- including his delusional suggestion that Joe Solomon "paid for votes" with this year's tax increase.

    This is nothing but the final, desperate attempt by a once-failed candidate to get any attention that he thinks will help his futile candidacy.

    The result, as we know, will be that thousands of honest, taxpaying voters will overwhelmingly reject his candidacy as a direct result of this kind of disgraceful campaign behavior.

    Thursday, August 23, 2018 Report this

  • Thecaptain

    Here is proof of the mental illness which plagues the fake mayor, Mayor Dumbness.

    From the court records:

    " Further evidence that Plaintifff Corrente believed the order to be inequitable at its issuance is found in past court records from previous court appearances. The computation of Corrente's income has been the central focus of the past nine years of litigation.

    Corrente has continually urged in past court appearances before different judges, that the Family Court's method of computing his income is inequitable because the court has not subtracted what he considers to be legitimate business expenses from his gross earnings. Appearing before Justice Michael Forte in the same matter on March 12, 1997, Justice Forte asks Corrente, "What's your annual income?" (Record, 3/12/97, page 12, line 7) Corrente responded , "Under $7000 per year, and I can prove that to you. My gross earnings is (sic) one issue. What I live off is a fraction of that, Yor Honor." (Record, 3/12/97, pg 12, lines 8-11) In the same court appearance, Justice Forte asked Corrente, "I'm asking you what your willing to pay temporarily until I can resolve this. If you're a good father - and I'm sure you're going to stand there and tell me that you are - then you're willing to pay something. How much?" (Record 3/12/97, pg 11, lines 8-13) Corrente responded - " I don't want to set a precedence (sic) Ten dollars a week is about what I can afford." (Record 3/12/97, pg 11, lines 14-16) to clarify Corrente's response, Justice Forte later asked,

    The Court - "You're telling me, you can only pay ten dollars a week?"

    Mr. Corrente - "Yes sir"

    The Court - " You're telling me that on the record?"

    Mr. Corrente - "Yes sir, I'll stand by that"

    Mr. Watson - There is a W2 form that declares $40,000 in income in 1995

    The Court - "What happened to that?"

    Mr. Corrente - "Gross earnings, Your Honor, He's neglected to tell you the $25,000 that it cost me to make that, Your Honor."

    The Court - " Well, we're going to have to wait. We'll deal with it at the hearing".

    Mr. Corrente - "You cant look at gross receipts and consider them earnings, I wish you could."

    In a court appearance before Justice Forte on January 28,1997, to determine his income for child support payments, Corrente stated on the record, "He (defendants attorney) does not know what my income is. All he know's is my gross receipts , and he's trying to manipulate this Court into believing that my gross receipts is my income." (Record, 1/28/97, pg 3 lines 22-25)

    This small sample of on the record statements demonstrates plaintiff's concern with the court's computation of his income - specifically his contention that certain business and/or personal living expenses should be deducted from his gross earnings. It also shows the amount of money that Corrente believed he could afford to pay for child support: $10.00 per week. Corrente was aware at the time of the issuance of the May 27th court order that the court had not deducted the amounts from his gross earnings thathe had wished. He was also aware the the court order stated he must pay $223.15 per week for child support payments: $213.15 more than he stated on the record he could afford. It is hard to imagine how this order could ever have been considered "equitable" by Corrente in light of his previous testimony. His statement on the may 27th record confirms this theory. "

    Thursday, August 23, 2018 Report this

  • Thecaptain

    By the way, does anyone actually know where mayor dumbness is presently residing? I'm wondering if the overpass is in

    Warwick. If its not, he is not eligible to run for office in Warwick.

    Thursday, August 23, 2018 Report this

  • CrickeeRaven

    He changed the address on his voter registration to 2194 Warwick Ave. a few weeks ago, Thecaptain: https://bit.ly/2Mr4fFQ

    Thursday, August 23, 2018 Report this

  • Thecaptain

    Crick,

    Are you aware that he has a woman making cold calls from his office to solicit voters?

    Thursday, August 23, 2018 Report this

  • CrickeeRaven

    No, I wasn't aware of that, Thecaptain. Although it's just like him to go cheap, isn't it?

    Thursday, August 23, 2018 Report this