With Ward 3 Councilman Tim Howe not running for reelection, the former chairman of the Warwick GOP hopes he can take advantage and win the seat.

Richard Cascella is challenging Democratic candidate Bryan Nappa, endorsed by Howe, in the general election, and hopes to get at least one Republican elected to City Council and increase engagement in city government.

“When election time comes around, we’re always looking for Republicans to step up and try to get elected,” Cascella said. “It’s for that reason that I decided to throw my hat in the ring this time around.”

Previously, Cascella lived in Ward 1 and moved into Ward 3 a year and a half ago. Cascella said, though, he has been a taxpayer in Ward 3 and has owned property in the ward for 20 years. Outside of politics, Cascella is a realtor, and has a wife and two children.

Cascella believes the city needs to reel in spending, and that he would be a stronger voice on fiscal responsibility than current councilmembers. Over the next couple of years, he sees Warwick’s bond indebtedness as the biggest issue facing the city.

“Frankly, there hasn’t been a whole lot of courage or fortitude from anybody on the council to really attack any of that stuff or even challenge the mayor to come up with some new ideas on how to trim the fat,” Cascella said. “That bill is coming, and there’s going to be a point where Warwick’s going to be on the hook for maybe $15 to $20 million of new debt, because we’re opening old bonds…Warwick’s never really been one to pay all their bills on time.”

Cascella said he would advice to Picozzi on certain items, should he be reelected, in order to make him “the best mayor he can be.”

“It’s going to be a very difficult task for any one person to manage the kind of political and financial and social things that the mayor is going to have to handle,” Cascella said. “And I want to be there to support him and the council, and as a team, I think we can get Warwick on a good course.”

In addition, Cascella called for changes to the city’s charter to allow more open discussion between the Council and members of the public.

With the election upcoming, Cascella plans to walk the ward for at least two hours each day, noting that he believes doing more walking could have pushed him over the top in past elections. He also believes that Republicans in the city are enthusiastic about supporting former president Donald Trump in the presidential race, and hopes that enthusiasm can put him over the top.

“You can’t mail it in- you need to go belly to belly with everyone,” Cascella said. “This time around, I am not going to let anything stop me from being diligent in my walking.”

By reaching its residents, Cascella is hoping that he can end up winning elected office in his third go-around, after having lost in Ward 1 in 2016 and Ward 1 on the School Committee in 2018.

“Ward 3 is the heart of the whole city,” Cascella said. “And this is a transformative time in Warwick’s political history, where the electorate has an opportunity to create a team of new people with new ideas to help Warwick be the best it can be.”