1st Candidate Announces for Providence Mayor
GoLocalProv News Team
1st Candidate Announces for Providence Mayor
Sionni, who recently worked on Anthony Gemma's congressional campaign and is an outspoken critic of Mayor Angel Taveras' proposed tax hike, is running as an Independent.
He lives in the Elmhurst section of Providence.
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"I believe that I can make Providence a better place to work, live and raise a family. My family has resided for more than 100 years in Providence, we have all come from humble beginnings. My grandparents came to America in settled in the Federal Hill and Fox Point sections of Providence," said Sionni.
Sionni has recently been active in working to block the proposed tax increase. As part of his effort he has created a number of online petitions to block the tax increase.
"I decided to run for mayor because I have become fed up with what is going on in our city. We need to be pro-business in Providence and create jobs. We need to work with our state leaders and eliminate the inventory tax on businesses. You will never get a Costco to move to Providence with these inventory taxes."
As part of Sionni's campaign he has created a Facebook support page for his effort.
"We need to work at lowering our commercial property tax rate and lowering the car tax. People are struggling to make ends meet in this economy. Businesses are closing, many people are out of work and our infrastructure is crumbling. Sadly I believe we have the worst roads in RI, the roads have been neglected for decades. The crime rate is also very concerning to me. Our schools are crumbling and closing and many neighborhoods are littered with trash. The city also has many abandoned houses in our neighborhoods. We have to find ways to fix and sell these properties," said Sionni.
Sionni is the first to announce for Mayor of Providence. There are more than a dozen including City Council President Michael Solomon, political consultant/lobbyist Brett Smiley, Republican Daniel Harrop, and former Mayor Vincent Cianci to be rumored to be considering a run in 2014.
Sionni says he would balance the budget through cuts rather than property tax increases. "We have to cut wasteful spending. I believe we can make much more cuts. Why should the mayor's staff who work at city hall be given free parking passes to park in the Biltmore parking garage, costing tax payers over $100,000 a year?" said Sionni.
Activist in Providence
Sionni has been active in a range of campaigns. He came under fire while working on the Gemma campaign when he tweeted a negative tweet about Gemma's opponent, sitting Congressman David Cicilline. In the past year, Sionni has been a fixture at Council meetings. "I have been to many city council meetings and committee meetings, where many of the city council members are absent," he said. "As a citizen, I have seen first hand whats going on at city hall. I have had a car tax protest at city hall and have been involved in many city issues," said Sionni.