Providence Journal: "Providence mayoral candidates have their first televised debate"

By Philip Marcelo

The five mayoral candidates, facing each other in the election season’s first televised debate on Tuesday, were taken off their talking points by questions focused on some of the criticisms and concerns raised about each of the candidates during the campaign.

Angel Taveras, a former city Housing Court judge appointed by Mayor David N. Cicilline, was asked by moderator Tim White, an investigative reporter for WPRI Channel 12, the debate sponsor, how he responded to those who see him as an extension of the Cicilline administration.

He pointed to his humble upbringing as the son of Dominican immigrants raised by a single mother, a stark contrast to Cicilline, who is the son of a prominent city defense attorney.

Taveras also pointed to his policy differences with the mayor, including the need for a public safety commissioner to oversee the police and fire departments, a position that Cicilline has refused to fill.

Asked how he could enact real pension reform as a long-serving public servant in line to receive three city pensions, City Councilman John J. Lombardi said he considered himself a pension reformer, adding that his three pensions, all told, would entitle him to about $14,500 a year after 26 years of service.

State Rep. Steven M. Costantino was asked about how he could run television advertisements touting his record balancing state budgets as chairman of the influential House Finance Committee, when recent reports pegged the state budget deficit at about $38 million after the federal government gave Rhode Island a smaller amount of aid than anticipated.

Costantino, maintaining that the current-year deficit was closer to $30 million, said that the state had more than enough time to make up the shortfall with across-the-board cuts in spending.

Meeting for the fourth time this month, candidates were also more willing to take each other on in this debate, the latest sign that the mayoral race, after months of polite campaigning, is turning into a more hard-nosed fight.

The softspoken lawyer Taveras, in particular, made a concerted effort to dig into Costantino and Lombardi, the two most-seasoned politicians he’ll face in the September Democratic primary.

“We have a massive unfunded pension liability that has exploded while my opponents have been in office. It’s time for new leadership to move our city forward,” said Taveras during his opening statement. “We cannot afford the career politicians who got us where we are today.”

Earlier this month, anonymous e-mail attacks took aim at Costantino and Lombardi. And this week, a Facebook fan page called “Tough Questions for Angel Taveras” targeted the Mount Pleasant resident’s statements on city pensions, consolidation of city services, tax exempt properties and other issues.

Asked during the Tuesday debate about the Internet attacks, all the candidates denied responsibility, and all but Christopher F. Young denounced the use of such tactics during the campaign and pledged to fire campaign staffers if they were found to be sending out the attacks.

There were some points of agreement among the candidates. All believed that the Department of Public Works was ineffective and said they would discontinue the use of a costly police detail for the mayor’s office, a point of criticism during Cicilline’s administration.

But asked to grade Cicilline’s job performance, the candidates gave a range of answers: Young gave him an F-, Lombardi a C, Taveras a B-, Costantino a B, and independent candidate Jonathan Scott a C-.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face Scott in the November general election.

WHAT’S NEXT?Upcoming Providence mayoral debates and forums

There are a number of chances to catch the mayoral candidates discussing the issues before the Sept. 14 Democratic primary. Confirmed events include:

Aug. 26: College Hill Neighborhood Association hosts forum from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Wheeler School.

Sept. 1: Rhode Island Citizens for the Arts hosts a forum on arts and the creative sector from 5:30-7 p.m. at the University of Rhode Island campus at 80 Washington St.

Sept. 2: Live televised debate at the Rhode Island School of Design, hosted by ABC Channel 6 from 7-8 p.m.

Sept. 5: Pre-taped political roundtable hosted by NBC Channel 10 airs at 6 a.m.

Sept. 9: Providence Preservation Society hosts a forum on historic preservation issues from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Providence Public Library downtown.