By JOHN HOWELL Ward 5 Councilman Ed Ladouceur says members of the City Council and the mayor could do a better job of representing their constituents and tackling the major issues that face the city if they didn't have to focus on running for reelection
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Ward 5 Councilman Ed Ladouceur says members of the City Council and the mayor could do a better job of representing their constituents and tackling the major issues that face the city if they didn’t have to focus on running for reelection every two years.
Ladouceur is the author of a resolution calling for enabling legislation from the General Assembly to place on the November ballot the question of whether terms for the council and the mayor should be extended from two to four years. The resolution, which was on the Monday council agenda, was held until April 6 for consideration.
Ladouceur reasons it takes a newly elected council member a year to 18 months to learn the ropes of the job, at which time they’re thrust into campaigning for reelection should they choose to run. The mayor, he said, is in a similar position, but instead of coping with the neighborhood issues faced by a member of the council must deal with larger, more encompassing city issues.
Speaking of responding to calls ranging from potholes to downed tree limbs and more complex issues such as the extension of sewers and the future of schools, Ladouceur said, “I would much rather continue doing that 35 hours a week than every 18 months taking six months off to campaign.”
There’s more to it than gearing up to campaign. “It’s very expensive,” Ladouceur said, citing the costs of campaigning. In addition, there’s the matter of raising the money.
“I absolutely don’t like doing fundraisers,” he said.
Some of Ladouceur’s plan sits well with Republican City Committee Chair Richard Cascella. As for Mayor Joseph Solomon, he doesn’t see a two- or four-year term changing his routine as he considers himself perpetually seeking to do what’s best for the city and in that respect always running.
“It’s up to the voters, two or four [years] doesn’t matter,” he said Tuesday. “Every day I’m doing my job. I’m doing it right. I’m running every day.”
Solomon said the resolution did not emanate from the administration.
“With everything going on today, that wasn’t my priority,” he said.
Cascella thinks a four-year mayoral term makes sense. Two-year terms for the council, on the other hand, he sees as good since he believes they offer greater opportunity to involve more people in government while providing a check of those who have been in office for extended periods.
“Giving an opening every two years is a good thing,” he said.
Cascella favors term limits, although he’s not set on what they should be. He suggests six years for the council and eight to 12 years for the mayor.
Kim Wineman, Democratic City Committee chair, could not be reached for comment.
Ladouceur’s resolution makes no mention of term limits. None of the city’s elected officials, state or city, are faced with term limits. All are two-year posts with the exception of the School Committee, which has four-year terms.
Citing open meetings laws, Ladouceur said he did not poll fellow council members to their feelings on four-year terms. He is undecided whether four-year terms should take effect this year, which would put local elections on the same schedule as presidential elections, or in 2022, which would coincide with the four-year term for statewide offices.
6 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
Justanidiot
finally, the beacon is covering this issue
Thursday, March 12, 2020 Report this
CharlieB
Four year terms without term limits is a bad idea in this City - Period.
Thursday, March 12, 2020 Report this
JamesBruder
I say go the other way. 1 year term...
Thursday, March 12, 2020 Report this
Jsimmy230
Leave it just like it is, but add term limit of 8 years max for all elected officials. They suck now knowing they gave to run in 2 years. If they have 4 years, they will suck double. Extending to 4 years ISN'T good for the people, just the politicians. All democrats in Warwick City Hall, State House, and Washington, and the Mayor and Ladouceur expects us to believe they haven't talked about this amongst themselves? This shows another reason why they need 8 year term limits, and leave elections every two years; they lie, and the others swear to it, while they all conspire together to screw US!
Friday, March 13, 2020 Report this
Warwickbeautiful
Before Johnny Sweat Pants accuses anyone of being a liar, he needs to clean up his own house, and the first step would be for him to give back his bogus disability pension, which today earns him over $100,000 TAX FREE dollars per year.
Saturday, March 14, 2020 Report this
Jsimmy230
BLAH, BLAH, BLAH COWARDS!
Sunday, March 15, 2020 Report this