With the special election to fill the Ward 6 council seat left empty after Matthew Reilly’s resignation tentatively set as October 3, two candidates have come forward to throw their hat into the ring. As of Tuesday morning, the Cranston Canvassing Board is waiting on the state to approve the dates put forth for the special election needed to fill the vacant Council position.

Goal-oriented Anthony Melillio running as Republican

With the special election to fill the Ward 6 council seat left empty after Matthew Reilly’s resignation tentatively set as October 3, two candidates have come forward. Anthony Melillo is running as a Republican candidate to fill the position.

Having lived in Cranston for over 30 years, Melillo currently serves on the Cranston School Committee as the representative of ward 6. Growing up in Johnston before moving to Cranston, he said he considers himself a Rhode Islander through and through.

Melillo worked for the city as a food service director for 18 years and is currently sales director for DiLanna Food and Paper in Johnston. “I’ve never lost an election” Melillo joked. “I ran for class president and won that. I ran for the School Committee and won that.”

Having worked in food service since the age of 12, even owning a restaurant, Melillo has developed a very goal oriented mentality.

“Being in sales, and I’ve been in food sales for a while, you always have a target you want to accomplish,” he explained. “I used to say if you think it it’s a prayer, if you say it it’s a wish and if you write it down it’s a goal. I’ve always written things down to make it a goal.”

There’s always something he sets as a target for his first 100 days. Once accomplished he already has a target for his next 100.

“This opportunity came up to better serve the constituents of Ward 6, of which I have been a resident of for a while now, so I kind of know the challenges that the district has seen,” Melillo said. “I know the people in the community, and so that’s where I decided to run for the city council.”

In his first 100 days on the School Committee he worked on increasing school security, an issue Melillo said is at the top of his priorities.

“Speaking to police officers, when someone would come into the school all they could do was escort them out and not do anything with them but ask them to leave,” Melillo said. “Now with the [no trespassing] signs up and stuff it has more teeth in the law. Something as simple as that is posted.

Since declaring his candidacy, Melillo has received support from  Mayor Hopkins and the three Republican members of the council, Nicole Renzulli, Christopher Paplauskasi and Richard Compapiano.

Despite being a Republican, Melillo said he understands the value of having both sides of the aisle present in government. Believing in fiscal responsibility, and in smaller government, are his beliefs and so he is a republican, he said, but he also feels that both sides have their opinions and it’s important to hear all sides.

“I’m going to be committed to actively listening to ideas of people in the community,” Melillo said. “What I plan on doing is having an open door policy. I worked for the Traficante administration. I know that there was always ‘meet your council person at the library sort of thing.’ I’m going to do more of that where I’m open and about, and I get out there and talk to people within ward 6.”

Budlong Pool

Debate over the plans to remodel and decrease Budlong pool in size is common in the city with many people supporting Mayor Ken Hopkins’ plan to decrease the pool to a third of its size and add other amenities such as a pickleball court, barbeque area and splash pads, while a group of vocal objectors have attended many city council meetings to demand the pool be restored and updated at its current size.

How Melillo feels about the situation may be important to Ward 6 voters as they choose who to support for the now open seat on the council.

“I think the way they’re handling it now, with some federal funds to help with that and get it going, I think that will help,” he said. “It’s a catch 22. I know why we have to have the pool. I know it’s great, but I understand why it’s been closed for so many years. I think the mayor, and I also believe the councilwoman in ward 2 are working together which is how it should be, are working to move the pool forward.”

The focus of Melillo’s concerns when it comes to Budlong Pool are that the fiscal responsibility for its repair is not put solely on the shoulders of the people of Cranston, he explained. He further said that he felt the way the Hopkins administration has been working towards that has been successful.

“It’s a slow process,” Melillo said. “I know that frustrates some people, but it’s something I think the mayor is doing a great job with, and he is working across the aisle. Which I think, like I’ve said before, I worked in a unique environment when I worked for Mayor Traficante it was very often working across the aisles. That’s going to be something I do.”

Parking Ban

The issue of overnight parking is another that has been mentioned by both the public and members of the council over the course of the last several months. Currently, parking on city streets is not allowed between  1 a.m. and 7 a.m.

“It’s certain times of year that frightens me,” Melillo said. “Obviously during the winter, to get plows down the street, if there’s cars there it makes it difficult for emergency vehicles with smaller streets that’s a problem.”

He said that, living in New York, his daughter often had to use a parking garage and walk to her building.

“I’m not saying we have to do that,” Melillo elaborated. “I believe that right now the law is the law. If we work to do something and maybe create some off street parking. I mean I know when I grew up my grandparents were living on federal hill and there was a parking lot with 15 to 20 spots and people would park there and walk to their house.”

Melillo pointed at the option of finding city owned properties that could be repurposed into parking areas. He said this could be easier than changing the law completely. Working together to find new parking would be better for safety and maintaining the room necessary for emergency vehicles to pass down some of the city’s narrower streets.

Top Golf

When discussing economic development in Ward 6, the first thing to Melillo’s mind was Top Golf and, “God willing Costco”, coming.

“One of my concerns, just as it was when Garden City School was growing, is the traffic pattern,” he said. “I to Mr. Alviti, and he assured me that they’re working on starting the traffic pattern to make sure that the traffic doesn’t totally go through Sockanosset Road. The entrance to Top Golf would be through the back entrance, and it would alleviate a lot of concerns the people of Ward 6 have.”

While he is a proponent of economic development, Mellilo said it is very important to him to make sure that any project makes sense for the community. He also expressed concern for state owned properties.

“I think our state-owned property, that they keep on reducing our pilot money, and wanting to use that property however they see fit, but nobody ever talks about that traffic pattern or the issues with how that property is being utilized,” he said. “That’ll be something I watch out for to make sure no big changes happen.”

Additional Issues

Melillo referenced the “tent city,” homeless encampments, and occasionally protests, that made news locally and statewide after, one appeared on the steps of the State House and several appeared in Cranston.

“I know it impacted the residents of Ward 6,” he explained. “It made for some news, and I think that we have quite a bit of the unhoused living in Cranston right now on the Howard complex. The move to make sure the tent city was built elsewhere, I think, was something I’d have been advocating as well.”

Melillo said that he believes the city already has enough state run facilities for the unhoused. While there are clearly many issues to be handled in Cranston, Melillo’s focus remains economic and community development.

“I’d like to keep on going with the development,” he explained. “I don’t know if you’ve been to Garden City lately, but it’s unbelievable. It seems like there is a new store moving in every day. They’re very community oriented stores and I’ll work tirelessly to work with the Hopkin’s administration to attract new business, create local job opportunities. Being right here in Garden City, young adults and retired people I see them working in Garden City on a regular basis.”

The City of Cranston has put forth the prospective date of October 3 for the special election, pending approval by the state. As of now, only one candidate has been declared for each party, so no primary election is currently necessary. Should a primary become necessary due to more candidates putting themselves forward, the currently expected date for a primary would be September 5.

Dan Wall comfortable working both sides of political aisle

Dan Wall is running as a Democrat to fill the Ward 6 council seat left empty in a special election tentatively set as October 3.

 While running as a Democrat, Wall said that he doesn’t feel political affiliations should interfere in providing the people of Cranston with a better city.

“I ran as an unaffiliated candidate for my four terms on the School Committee,” Wall said. “When I was on the School Committee I served everyone. I was proud of the fact that the school committees I served on and the ones I presided over were very nonpartisan.”

Wall said that in his time on the school committee he had multiple times when it was his responsibility to appoint someone. When people resigned from the School Committee for various issues, Wall appointed Republicans and Democrats to open positions.

“That’s the way I wanted it,” Wall explained. “I tried to appoint the best person to the job each time. The School Committee is nonpartisan for a reason.”

A teacher in Providence for more than 25 years, Wall used his experience as a teacher and as a parent of two students who graduated from Cranston West to help him in his time on the Cranston School Committee. He served 4 terms, 8 years, as a member of the School Committee in Cranston serving as chairman of the committee for his final two terms.

Now with both his daughters in college, his eldest a senior at Emory and his youngest a junior at Chapman, Wall is excited for a chance to represent Ward 6 on the city council.

With the belief that he worked well with both mayors in office during his time on the school committee and members of the committees on both sides of the aisle, Wall feels that he has a proven track record of putting the people and their needs ahead of personal affiliations and agendas.

“I understand the division on the federal level,” Wall said of the divide between Republicans and Democrats. “I see it, I understand it and I follow it. At times it’s like a soap opera. However, on the city level I think we all want the same things. I think we all came to Cranston, the people who came like I did, came here for the same reasons and I think we should all be able to work together on it.

Budlong Pool

Debate over the plans to remodel and decrease Budlong Pool in size is common in the city with many people supporting Mayor Ken Hopkins’ plan to decrease the pool to a third of its size and add other amenities such as a pickleball court, barbeque area and splash pads, while a group of vocal objectors have attended many city council meetings to demand the pool be restored and updated at its current size.

How Wall feels about the situation may be important to Ward 6 voters as they choose who to support for the now open seat on the council.

“Without having all the ins and outs, the cost and the price, I think we need a pool,” Wall said about the issue. “I think we need Budlong Pool. I think that we can use those ARPA funds, and we should have a Budlong Pool that is basically the same basic structure. It doesn’t matter what part of the city you live in. You can walk through every neighborhood, my neighborhood and my own kids, no matter where you go in the city you’ll hear of a lot of people who learned to swim at that pool. We should focus on rebuilding Budlong as best we can and repairing it as best we  can.”

Wall said that he believes that when it comes down to the best way to handle the pool, it should come down to budgeting. Wall said that the pool got to where it is due to years of neglect and disrepair. While he said that he does not currently have all the numbers and information he’d need to know the best course of action, he understands that people feel strongly about the pool and that if there is a way to budget for it then he understands why people would want to maintain the pool's current size.

Parking ban

The issue of overnight parking is another that has been mentioned by both the public and members of the council over the course of the last several months. Currently, cars are not allowed to be parked on city streets between the hours of 1 a.m. and 7 a.m.

While Wall recognized this seems to be less an issue in Ward 6 as it may be in others, he expressed a sincere understanding of why this would be an issue in other parts of the city.

“I think you could at least have zones,” Wall speculated. “Right now the way I understand it, the ordinance does say no overnight parking. In my neighborhoods I know it’s not much of an issue, but speaking as just a member of the council I’d recognize that people have more cars and there’s not enough parking. Definitely, the prime thing is to worry about the public safety because that can’t be compromised. That being said I’d look at the certain parts [of the city] and look into a way to zone it to create more parking. I can understand the validity of their point. There could be parts of the city that could be more relaxed. I think the majority of the city you wouldn’t have to change.”

Top Golf

With Top Golf moving forward and questions of its impact on the area arise, Wall was asked his opinion of the project. After having asked for an update on the project from the council last August, Wall said that he felt they were upfront and honest about the successful completion of a traffic study and that he has no reason to doubt their belief that it won’t add to the congestion already found at the intersection of Pontiac Avenue and Sockanosset Cross Road.

“I know it’s a concern in that area,” Wall explained. “People moved to Garden City and that area, I drive by there every day, and it’s congested. Right now I’m going to take Top Golf and the people on the council at their word that they’ve done the study and it’s under control. Smart economic development. Let’s be honest. It’s going to help us with our tax base. It’s going to bring people in, and no one likes the current tax rates. Smarter economic developments will offset that tax base.”

Additional Issues

Wall said that in addition to these city-wide concerns, he’s heard several other concerns from constituents in Ward 6. The first of these issues is speeding.

“I have noticed an increase in speeding the last few years,” Wall said. “We have the neighborhood schools here, like Glen Hills. We have Garden City. I’ll tell you parents that I’ve talked to and around this area they’re concerned by how much people speed.”

While he is not sure of the solution yet, Wall said that if elected he’d put time into looking at the issue and finding a problem.

While speeding may be a problem in Ward 6, it’s not the only one that Wall has his eye on.

“I’m just starting to hear rumbles of this, and I know Mr. Reilly had issues prior to him resigning, but people are saying that they aren’t getting answers about this,” Wall began. “In the area around Mayfield Street are talking about a carwash that is expected to go in. I’m hearing rumors that people in the area are very concerned with it. That’s something that I plan to work on.”

The City of Cranston has put forth the prospective date of October 3 for the special election, pending approval by the state. As of now, only one candidate has been declared for each party, so no primary election is currently necessary. Should a primary become necessary due to more candidates putting themselves forward, the currently expected date for a primary would be September 5.