The Inside Scoop on Providence City Council Races

The Inside Scoop on Providence City Council Races

With 5 of 15 City Council members not seeking re-election, there will be alot of fresh faces in the 2011 Providence City Council.  Here's a rundown of the Council races.

• WARD 1  ->  Councilman Seth Yurdin has no opponent. 

• WARD 2  ->  Councilman Cliff Wood is retiring.  Former school board member Sam Zurier will battle Ted Trafton in the Primary and face Independent Ronald Dwight in the General Election.  Zurier is the favorite in this one.  His leadership on education issues, from the school board to co-founding the East Side public education coalition to advocating for the education funding formula has been impressive.  Trafton could be a suprise, though.  This financial advisor from Ameriprise has roots on the East Side and recently impressed folks with his leadership on a fundraiser for the Nonviolence Institute.

• WARD 3  ->  Councilman Kevin Jackson has no opponent.

• WARD 4  ->  Councilman Nick Narducci has no opponent.

• WARD 5  ->  Councilman Michael Solomon has a re-match with former Councilman Patrick Butler in the Primary.  Solomon won by 165 votes in 2006.  Since then, he's shown real leadership on the Council ranging from zoning to waterfront to workers' rights issues.  Solomon is the clear favorite in this one.

• WARD 6  ->  Councilman Joe DeLuca is retiring.  Mike Correia and Robert Pieranunzi will battle in the Primary.  Correia is the favorite as he is the heir and endorsed Democrat to replace DeLuca.

• WARD 7  ->  Councilman John Igliozzi has no opponent. 

• WARD 8  ->  Councilman Leon Tejada has a re-match with Wilbur Jennings as well as newcomers Hamlet Lopez and Maritza Ortiz in the Primary with the winner facing Republican Dave Talan in the General.  Tejada won a 5-way race in 2006.  This time around, he will not have the Mayor's team - including the Slater family - to help him out.  Upstart Lopez is a young and passionate campaigner.  Jennings is a long-time 0-fer - meaning he's 0 for everything he's ever run for - including Council and State Rep.  Jennings also infuriated many in his district when he cut and deal and supported Costantino for Mayor.  Ortiz is a newcomer who will need to raise the money to increase her name recognition and get her message out.  This one is a toss-up. 

• WARD 9  ->  Councilman Miguel Luna has a re-match with Hector Jose as well as Gonzalo Cuervo in the Primary.  Luna won a 4-way race in 2006 with only 1/3 of the vote.  Since that time, he's not done much to recoop the 2/3 of the people who voted against him.  Jose is a big-spender who outspent everyone in 2006 but came in at the back of the pack with only 260 votes.  He joined Jennings in cutting a deal with Costantino, so he's not likely to do well in this race.  Cuervo is the real wild card in this race.  He ran unsuccessfully for State Rep a decade ago and is identified as a longtime Cicilline staffer.  If he can raise the money and get his message out, he very well may pull out the race between the incumbent Luna and the gadfly Jose.

• WARD 10  ->  Councilman Luis Aponte has a re-match with Pedro Espinal in the Primary and the winner will face off against Independent Shannon McDonald.   Aponte beat Espinal by 15 votes in 2006.  Many attribute Aponte's narrow victory in 2006 to summer infrastructure improvements and community activists dropping literature hammering Espinal for attempting to tear-apart a local non-profit - DARE - and for his activities as a large residential landlord in South Providence.  Now, 4 years later, Aponte has solidified his electoral coalition and will likely win this race by a larger margin.  The wild card in this race could be the working waterfront issue and how much those businesses come after Aponte for trying to zone them out of existence.

• WARD 11  ->  Councilwoman Balbina Young is retiring.  Seven Democrats will battle it out in the primary including Lawrence Benton, Joe Buchanan, Shawndell Burney, Buddy George, Kim Maynard, Davian Sanchez and Richard Vaughn.  The winner will face off against Independents Victor Regino, Carrie Marsh and William Pellicio.  This is a true toss-up as you have longtime activists like Joe Buchanan going up against famous South Providence families like the Bentons and the Maynards as well as the son of the famous Sanchez Market - Davian Sanchez - being the only Latino in the primary. 

• WARD 12  ->  Councilman Terry Hassett has no opponent. 

• WARD 13  ->  Councilman John Lombardi is retiring.  Democrats Steve Meresi and Bryan Principe will face off in the Democratic Primary.  There should be a debate between these candidates about who will fix the war-like potholes on Dean St. first!  Meresi is the owner of Palmieri's bakery on the Hill and Principe is a longtime member of the City Plan Commission.  This is a true tossup.

• WARD 14  ->  Councilman Peter Mancini is retiring.  Democrats Anthony Fagundes, Sr., Phi McKendall and David Salvatore will battle in the Primary with the winner facing Independents Daniel Auxier and Anthony Fagundes, Jr.   This is an interesting race.  McKendall is the City Council staffer.  Salvatore is from a historic North End family that includes his father as the chair of the Ward 14 committee.  This one is a toss-up.

• WARD 15  ->  Councilwoman Josephine DiRuzzo has a re-match with Sabina Matos in the Democratic Primary.  Many thought that DiRuzzo and her four pensions would bow out this year.  But, she's back.  And so is her opponent from 2006 - Sabina Matos - who lost by 123 votes the last time out.  The edge has to go to Matos who made real headway in 2006 and who is likely to take out the longtime incumbent this time around.  Hopefully, whoever wins this race will finally improve the roads in Olneyville!

Of course, there are several factors at play here in the Democratic Primary.  First, there is a battle to replace outgoing Council President Peter Mancini.  Councilmen Solomon, Aponte, Hassett and Narducci have all been angling for support on this front.  In addition, some Council candidates have come out in support of a Mayoral candidate while others have not.  It will be interesting to see how these two side-stories play out in these competitive Council races.