Candidates line up for 2018 races
4 p.m. and not a minute more.
That’s the rule, and Dottie McCarthy intends to abide by it when it comes down to Wednesday’s deadline for candidates to declare for office. A 13-year veteran of the Board of Canvassers, McCarthy has lived through election cycles and expects the office will be packed as candidates seek to learn who they will face on the ballot. Last minute surprises where incumbents choose not to run for reelection or newcomers suddenly appear on the scene do happen.
Will it happen this year?
So far, other than incumbents who have indicated their interest in seeking reelection this has been a low volume election year.
Of course, the major development came in April when, after more than 18 years as mayor, Scott Avedisian accepted the post as president and CEO of the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. Avedisian left the city’s top job in May, thereby avoiding the cost of a special election and putting City Council President Joseph Solomon in the role of completing his term.
Living up to his word that he will be a candidate for the job, Solomon was among the first to declare this candidacy on Monday. As of noon he was the only declared candidate, although Richard Corrente, who ran twice as the Democratic candidate against Avedisian, has said he will run again. “Corrente for Mayor” signs already are up and he has said he is running. If he follows through it would set up a Democratic primary for mayor.
When he announced he would be leaving the office, Avedisian predicted there was a high level of interest among Republicans and the seat would not go uncontested. Yet, so far, no one has come forward and both rumored candidates, Tom Stone who served on the Warwick Sewer Authority and Anthony Bucci, who has been active in state and local Republican circles, have said they won’t be running.
Former Ward 1 Councilwoman, who was an unsuccessful candidate for Secretary of State, Sue Stenhouse, has been rumored as a candidate. She could not be reached for comment, despite calls.
Political rumors usually travel at the speed of light, especially at this time of year, yet as of last week Rob Farrell, chairman of the City Democratic Committee, knew of no possible Republican candidates for mayor. He called Avedisian the “glue” to the Warwick Republican party, and without him on top of the local ballot he hasn’t heard of Republican candidates for either the mayor or the City Council.
As of Monday morning, only one Republican, Julie C. Caiozzo, had declared her candidacy. She is running for the Representative District 24, which is now held by Evan Shanley.
At least one Democratic council primary is shaping up as Anthony Sinapi and Bethany Furtado, who is currently the chairwoman of the School Committee, are reportedly running for the Ward 8 seat now held by Joseph Gallucci. Gallucci, who has served on the council for 18 years and worked for the city in the Board of Canvassers and Human Services another 16 years, said Sinapi and Furtado, both members of the Ward 8 Democratic Committee, have told him they are running.
As Gallucci talked about his decision not to seek reelection at the Board of Canvassers, Sinapi appeared to file his declaration papers.
“I will help whoever wins [the primary],” Gallucci said.
After declaring by the 4 p.m. Wednesday deadline, the candidates have until July 16 to return the required number of signatures of registered voters in their district to be listed on the ballot. The Board of Canvassers has until July 20 to certify the signatures. The deadline for party endorsements is this Thursday.
The required number of signatures to be a certified candidate varies from a high of 1,000 for U.S. Senate or governor to 50 for council and state representative or senator. A candidate for mayor is required to file the signatures of 200 registered Warwick voters.
McCarthy and the board are prepared for the candidates with information on the campaign calendar and requirement they must meet such as campaign finance reports.
Offering an observation, McCarthy said the political scene “all changed in 2016.” She said Democratic and Republican presidential primaries brought out a new group of people considering runs for local offices. She said since the 2016 election she has fielded numerous inquiries about running for office, although in most cases people don’t identify themselves.
As of 4 p.m. Monday, the following candidates have filed declaration papers:
Mayor
Joseph Solomon, D
Ward 1
Richard Corley, D
Ward 4
Michael Penta, I
Ernest Flagg, D
Ward 5
Ed Ladouceur, D
Ward 6
Donna Travis, D
Ward 7
Steve McAllister, D
Ward 8
Bethany Furtado, D
Anthony Sinapi, D
Ward 9
Steve Merolla, D
Rep. Dist. 19
Joseph McNamara, D
Rep. Dist. 22
Joseph Solomon Jr., D
Rep. Dist. 24
Julie Caiozzo, R
Senate Dist. 29
Michael McCaffery, D
Senate Dist. 30
Jeanine Calkin, D
Mark McKenney, D
Senate Dist. 31
Erin Lynch Prata
School Committee Dist. 1
Kyle Adams
School Committee Dist. 2
Judy Cobden
Mary T. Medeiros
School Committee Dist. 3
Nathan Cornell
