After months of deliberation and media speculation on whether either of the two major political parties would challenge incumbent Mayor Frank Picozzi, Leah Hazelwood decided to run as a Democrat, filing her paperwork the day of the deadline.

By running, Hazelwood said, she is looking to support as many people in the city she’s called home for more than 50 years as she can.

“I’ve been consistently supporting this community, and I’ve been very involved in the health of our community,” Hazelwood said. “If I really wanted to make a bigger difference, because I really care about people — that’s why I’m running.”

Should she be elected, Hazelwood would be the city’s first female mayor.

A graduate of Warwick Veterans High School and the Community College of Rhode Island, Hazelwood serves as vice chair of the School Committee, a position she has held since she was first elected in 2022. Since her seat is not up for reelection this year, she will continue serving on the committee if she loses the mayoral race.

Since first being elected to the committee, Hazelwood said she’s proudest of the work she’s done helping special education students in the city.

“When I first got on, we had real gaps in our services,” Hazelwood said. “We now have a new special ed director, and working along with her and the superintendent and assistant superintendent, we have made huge strides in our special education department in a year and a half.”

Prior to being elected to the committee, Hazelwood was a daycare provider, foster parent and an employee of the Warwick School Department for 22 years. Her commitment to helping children, Hazelwood said, led to her opening her own foster home out of her house, and Hazelwood herself has a foster child.

“The children were so amazing and so resilient,” Hazelwood said. “They, in spite of all the trauma they had faced, under the right, nurturing circumstances, you could see them thrive. So I made a decision that I really wanted to make a difference in children’s lives.”

Hazelwood’s husband, Billy, died in 2009 after a battle with cancer. She has four children — Rachel, William, Fred and Joseph.

A Hazelwood administration, she said, would be “people-first” and would seek to build a team with transparency and openness in mind.

“It’ll be the very best that we can get based on resume, not friendships,” Hazelwood said. “I will not say for a second that I have all the answers, and I don’t believe anyone does. It takes a team, and one thing I am very good at is building a team.”

As a current School Committee member, making sure both high schools were built on time and on budget is a top priority for Hazelwood. She said the city has no more money to give and that any delays in getting the schools built would cost the city more.

Living on a fixed income, Hazelwood said she can emphasize with older residents concerned about whether they can continue to afford to live in the city.

“I want an audit of the city so that we know where we stand, the state of our finances,” she said. “I want to make sure that everybody has that availability [to live in the city].”

Hazelwood also said that as mayor, she would like to revitalize parks, fields and other outdoor gathering places throughout the city.

With two and a half months left to the election, Hazelwood has high hopes for the election ahead. In order to win, she would have to overcome two former School Committee members in the general election — incumbent mayor Frank Picozzi and Patrick Maloney, Jr., both of whom are running as independents.

While Hazelwood said she wanted to focus on her plans and herself rather than her opponents, she said that both Picozzi and Maloney were good people.

“I just feel I have a different look on things,” she said. “Being a person that has helped many children through my home and seen differing needs of children and knowing, if we’re going to keep children on the right path, we have to have things for them in our community.”

From now until November, Hazelwood aims to show residents from all corners of the city she will prioritize them and be a voice for them as mayor.

“I have to be the best version of me, do what’s right for people, and put the people first,” Hazelwood said. “I’ve got to get out there and talk to people and see what they’re concerned about, and that’s what you have to bring into this role.”