Races begin to take shape as filing period arrives

With the arrival of summer, election season is again heating up.

This week brought the three-day window for elected office hopefuls to file declaration of candidacy forms, with the final deadline having arrived late Wednesday.

A number of positions are available at this year’s ballot, including all five seats on the Town Council, two on the school committee, and a handful in the General Assembly.

As of early Wednesday morning, candidates had filed for each of the council seats. Attention has been focused on District 5, where incumbent Democrat Stephanie Manzi has not stated whether she would seek re-election after questions emerged about her residency and the town found she was improperly claiming the Homestead Exemption on her property taxes.

Manzi had not filed candidacy papers as of early Wednesday, but two others had – Democrat Robert Civetti, and independent Michael Iafrate.

For the other four council seats, the current Democratic incumbents – Richard DelFino III in District 1, Anthony Verardo in District 2, David Santilli in District 3, and Council President Robert Russo in District 4 – were the only candidates to have submitted candidacy papers as of early Wednesday.

Three school committee members – Lauren Garzone of District 2, chairperson Janice Mele of District 3, and Gena Bianco of District 5, all Democrats – are in the midst of their current terms and do not face re-election this year.

In District 1, Democratic incumbent Robert Lafazia was the only candidate to have filed papers as of early Wednesday. In District 4, incumbent Joseph Rotella has declared his candidacy, as has fellow Democrat Alexander Matthew Lucini.

On the legislative side, much scrutiny has recently fallen on House of Representatives District 13 incumbent John Carnevale after media reports regarding his alleged use of a Johnston address as his primary residence rather than the Providence address he listed as his home. The Providence Board of Canvassers and Rhode Island State Police opened investigations of Carnevale following the media attention.

Carnevale, a Democrat whose district includes a portion of Johnston, filed candidacy papers on Wednesday. Three opponents, all Democrats, have also filed – Joshua Beeman, Ramon Perez, and Lisa Scorpio.

State Rep. Deborah Fellela (D-43) has filed papers to seek a new term. She is facing a challenge from independent Karin Gorman, who previously ran for the seat in 2010, 2012, and 2014.

State Rep. Stephen Ucci (D-42) has also declared his candidacy, with no other candidates having filed as of early Wednesday.

On the state Senate side, District 25 incumbent Democrat Frank Lombardo III has filed for re-election. Louis Vinagro Jr., a longtime presence in town politics, has filed to seek the seat as an independent.

State Sen. Stephen Archambault (D-22), whose district includes parts of Smithfield, Providence, and Johnston, has also filed to seek a new term, with no declared opponents as of early Wednesday.

The final field of candidates will be known later in July. Nomination papers for candidates will be available July 6, and are due to local canvassers July 15. The deadline for withdrawal of candidates is July 18, and the lottery for ballot placement is set for July 22.

The primary election will be held Sept. 13, and the general election on Nov. 8.

For additional information, visit the Secretary of State’s website, sos.ri.gov/elections.