To the Editor,
I listened intently to the candidates at the mayoral debate earlier this month.
Here’s what I learned:
The moderators were awesome and TOTALLY UNBIASED! John …
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To the Editor,
I listened intently to the candidates at the mayoral debate earlier this month.
Here’s what I learned:
The moderators were awesome and TOTALLY UNBIASED! John Howell of the Beacon, Barbara Polichetti, and Gene Valicenti were polite, professional, respectful, sincere, and gave equal time to all three candidates. What they didn’t do was coach, lead, offend, interject, attack, give preferential treatment, or disrespect to any of the candidates. When it was over I told Mr. Valicenti that the country would be better off if he moderated the presidential or vice presidential debates. That’s how good he, John and Barbara were in my opinion. They NAILED IT!
As for Leah Hazelwood:
I really like Leah a lot, but I believe she is so greatly qualified to sit on the school committee that she should not leave that position to go to another one that she doesn’t come close to the qualifications of our present Mayor. Sorry Leah. The job of Warwick Mayor is just NOT suited for you. School Committee absolutely IS! Warwick is better off re-electing this superstar school committee member over and over to the position she is perfectly suited for.
As for Patrick Maloney:
He had an off night wrongly accusing the Mayor of things that were untrue and having no facts to back them up. Sorry Patrick. But you never mentioned any policy you that would put in place to make Warwick better and you even admitted that Mayor Frank is “doing a great job”. You agreed that while the Mayor is doing a great job, you would do a better one, but Patrick, you never gave us a clue as to how.
As for Mayor Frank Picozzi:
He showed leadership. True leadership. When asked hard questions from the moderators, he answered with clear facts. He took responsibility for the decisions he made, and in matters that were beyond his control, he explained the circumstances preventing him to act. He did it with complete respect to his opponents. He showed empathy and intelligence while coming across as a Mayor who is accountable to the taxpayers. Anyone who attended last nights debate knowing nothing else about the candidates, would overwhelmingly vote for mayor Frank to be re-elected.
The debate was completely unbiased.
I am not.
I have been a Mayor Frank fan since day one and the debate didn’t change my mind one bit. I am voting for Mayor Frank. I recommend that all Warwick taxpayers and voters do as well. He’s doing a great job and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Richard Corrente
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bloodhound
Please vote for Leah Ann Hazelwood.
She is sociable, a great listener, a great speaker, a mother, she responds to people with good answers, she's intelligent, equally or more qualified than our current mayor, Leah is empathetic, she's clear minded, and she is the Best Choice for Mayor!
Make Warwick A Better Place! Vote for Leah Ann Hazelwood.
Thursday, October 31 Report this
Councilman Jeremy Rix
I respectfully disagree. I support Leah Hazelwood for Mayor. I'm including here some of my comments (paraphrased) that I shared in a letter that I sent to residents in Warwick, Ward 2:
I am endorsing Leah Hazelwood for Mayor because she shares my concerns that Warwick needs better long-term planning and certain charter reforms, like the one I am proposing. Leah Hazelwood, currently Vice Chair of the School Committee, is a retired special education teacher with many years of service for nonprofits and community organizations in Warwick. She loves Warwick and our community as much as anyone, and, has both the tact and mental toughness to succeed as Mayor.
I like Mayor Picozzi as a person. He’s done a lot for the community and he has worked with the City Council and me on many issues. But, there are some issues where we disagree. Unfortunately, these include major issues relating to the City's long-term financial planning so that Warwick will be in a position to honor the promises of benefits that it is contractually required to fulfill. in the long-term. That is, for as long as all of Warwick's current employees are to receive the benefits that the City promised them as part of their contracts. This is difficult but possible if we take steps sooner rather than later. This can be accomplished through a combination of 1) reducing the City's share of future long-term obligations through negotiations and 2) increasing revenue and committing that additional revenue to those long-term obligations investments, giving all stakeholders - from residents and taxpayers to current employees and retirees - more certainty that the City's finances will be stable and sustainable in the long-term and that the City will be in a strong position to honor the promises of benefits that it is contractually required to fulfill. I think that Leah Hazelwood is the best candidate for Mayor to help Warwick change course and work towards these goals.
Similarly, I have had conversations with Leah Hazelwood about the need for greater checks and balances in City government. Checks and balances really do make a difference in how decisions are made. These are the rules and tools that can set a balance in our City government not just when they are put in place, but for decades after everyone currently in or running for office are no longer in those positions. It's been far too long since the voters had an opportunity to reexamine the current balance of power. Leah Hazelwood supports some reasonable changes to the City Charter that would allow for more transparency and accountability, giving the City Council tools that our legislatures at the federal and state level already have (such as the City Council having "advice and consent" to approve the Mayor's nominees for certain Department Head / Director positions), so that our City Council can better do some of the jobs that people expect of their legislative branch of government.
Thursday, October 31 Report this
mlowney
Patrick Maloney Responding.
Thanks Richard. Check this video out. It is public record. Glass houses...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7G5WwkAlLU
You are typical because you point out one mistake. I did very well and people who watched the debate know the truth. Nepotism, here you go. Proven, 5/25/2023. Mayor Daughter gets 29% raise, others in union get 2.75% raise. Mayor defends her raise, doesn't defend others. That's nepotism.
https://youtu.be/yYTXdQ9Oo8Y
I was The ONLY ONE to point out Warwick schools could not be built for $350 Million. I was right and proven right 1 week later when the schools reported to the Mayor they needed $37.5 Million more.
https://warwickonline.com/stories/more-probable-than-not-350m-not-enough-to-build-two-high-schools,269148?
Remember, you can try to twist the truth all you want. The facts speak for themselves. It's typical for Richard Corrente to make statements of his opinion without facts.
Glass Houses.
https://warwickonline.com/stories/corrente-to-stay-active-but-wont-be-running-again,140152
https://warwickpost.com/digit-spinner-richard-corrente-fudges-numbers/
Friday, November 1 Report this