My desire and goal is to make Warwick be a place that young families desire to move to, because this is no longer the case.”

- Frank Picozzi

Citing a desire to bring positive changes to a city he feels has lost its sense of community pride, well-known community advocate and former Warwick School Committee Chairman Frank Picozzi announced on Monday that he would be running as an Independent candidate for Mayor of Warwick during the upcoming election in November.

“I have no ill feelings toward the present Mayor, I just strongly feel that the residents of this city want change,” Picozzi said through a press release. “My desire and goal is to make Warwick be a place that young families desire to move to, because this is no longer the case.”

Per the release, Picozzi said that although he feels “morale is very low amongst the residents” of Warwick, he still believes that a “fierce sense of community” still exists within the city. He has more than a half century of personal experience to back up that assessment, too, as he has lived in Warwick for over 52 years.

The argument could also be made that few in Warwick embody the “fierce sense of community” referenced in the press release more than Picozzi himself.

He has become well known in the city and throughout New England for his various community-centric endeavors – the most prevalent being the dazzling Christmas light display he sets up annually at his Hoxsie house for all to enjoy for free. He has also made recent positive headlines for his less scheduled and more spur-of-the-moment campaigns, such as rigging his truck with a smaller, mobile light array to bring smiles to people quarantined by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Picozzi is also known as an organizer for a large group of residents who gather each week to join the Good Night Lights tradition outside of Hasbro Children’s Hospital – where police and fire personnel and individual citizens turn out to shine lights into the windows as a show of support to hospitalized children.

The aforementioned Christmas light display has raised “tens of thousands” of dollars for the hospital’s Tomorrow Fund over the 13 years he has set up the display, according to the release, which helped earn him the Good Will Award from Hasbro Children’s Hospital.  He was also named a “Rhode Islander of the Year” by Rhode Island Monthly in 2018.

To change the current trajectory of Warwick, Picozzi said he would focus first and foremost on addressing issues within Warwick Public Schools – particularly the “adversarial” relationship that has existed between the school administration and city government.

“I would improve that relationship and have both sides pool resources and work together towards a common goal - to restore our school system to its former glory and reputation of being one of the best,” he said.

Picozzi said he would “find a way” to raise additional revenue in order to restore recreational facilities and create additional “family-oriented attractions,” and that is was important to do this without adding additional burden to taxpayers.

“We cannot keep going deeper into the homeowner’s pockets,” he said in the release. “We have to start looking for and finding alternate sources of revenue and ways to cut costs. I have some ideas that I consider creative and will explore the possibilities.”

Picozzi said that he had been “besieged” with people asking him to run for mayor in the past, but had never wanted the job. However, citing the low morale he has experienced in recent years compared to how prideful people were about the city in past decades, he said he felt a moral obligation to put his hat in the ring.

“[T]he current mood in the city and the continued requests have made me feel as though I was turning my back on my community when they were asking for my help, and that is something I would never do,” he said.

Picozzi has been married to his wife, Kim, for 41 years and they have two children and four grandchildren together – all Warwick residents. He said in the release that he would seek no endorsements from any political party or union, nor incur any “political debts,” should he be elected.

“[T]he only people that I owe will be the people of my city, and I vow that I will work on their behalf and work harder than anyone that has ever held the office,” he said. “I will make Warwick’s future brighter.”