This year, Mayor David Cicilline '83 is making his first bid for re-election since he became mayor in 2002 in the wake of former Mayor Vincent "Buddy" Cianci Jr.'s conviction for racketeering conspiracy.
Cicilline, a Democrat, faces a challenge in Tuesday's mayoral election from Republican Daniel Harrop '76 MD'79, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry.
Inheriting a city government plagued by corruption, Cicilline said his principal responsibility for his first term was to "restore honesty and integrity" to Providence politics, knowing this would ultimately lead to further improvements. Four years later, he points to better fiscal practices, increased accountability and renewed public confidence in local government as his major accomplishments as mayor.
A psychiatrist by trade - he has a private practice on Waterman Street - Harrop touts his administrative experience as his main qualification for the mayor's job. "A city is essentially a much larger form of administration," he said. The current mayor is "not much of an administrator," Harrop added, though he conceded that Cicilline has succeeded in his efforts to clean up city government.
"We did that by ... hiring people on their qualifications and not who they knew," Cicilline said at an Oct. 26 candidates' night held at Vartan Gregorian Elementary School.
Development downtown and in the neighborhoodsCicilline said the improvements Providence has seen in the last four years are "linked to people understanding that city government is honest."
"It affects the quality of city services" and attracts investors, he said.
Public confidence in elected officials has created a "trust dividend," Cicilline said, citing the $3 billion in invested in the city over the past four years, a tax base that has been growing for two consecutive years for the first time in over a decade and, perhaps most tellingly, the number of companies now willing to do business in Providence for the first time.
The GTECH headquarters downtown is the first office building to be erected in the city in 16 years, and Cicilline said he had to do more than just root out corruption to attract the corporation to Providence.
"I went to their board, I made a presentation ... and ultimately persuaded them to build the headquarters here," he said. "I personally brought them to the city."
The rapidly increasing number of office buildings and condominium towers downtown signals economic growth, but Cicilline said he is cognizant of the dramatic contrast between multi-million dollar condos downtown and the condition of many of Providence's other neighborhoods.
Still, outlying neighborhoods have also experienced progress, he said.
"Some of the most exciting stuff is the housing happening in the neighborhoods," Cicilline said, emphasizing the need for commercial growth to be "balanced against (communities') interests."
"We want the city to grow in a way that's healthy for communities, healthy for families in Providence," Cicilline said.
Zoning ordinances are one way to control city development. Fulfilling a campaign promise made four years ago, Cicilline recently proposed an inclusionary development ordinance that would require developers of residential units to designate a certain portion of those units as affordable.
Cicilline has also created a housing trust to which developers who receive special consideration from the city must contribute.
Harrop said he is less than pleased with the mayor's accomplishments.
"Most of the development going on downtown has been state-brokered," he said, citing the renovation of the Masonic Temple and relocation of the GTECH headquarters to downtown Providence as examples.
Harrop said creating more affordable housing is "tied to property tax income," adding that the city must work with developers and residents during the re-zoning process to address this issue. "Providence made a big mistake under the mayor's regime of basically re-zoning things before the (recent) major neighborhood charrettes," Harrop said. "It's perfectly fine to have large-scale (development) as long as the neighborhood has a say in it and it responds to their needs."
Harrop cited the relocation of Interstate 195 as an important opportunity for the application of this principle and said he is against any further tax credits for developers.
Plans for public schoolsAt a forum last week, Harrop blamed Cicilline for the poor performance of Providence's public schools. Providence is one of few cities where the mayor appoints the school board directly.
Harrop emphasized the failure of every Providence middle school to meet performance minimums as well as the designation of 29 percent of the city's schools as "poorly performing" under federal criteria.
Harrop said he supports the Providence Republican Party's plan to fix the school system, which entails a speedy transition to a K-8 system, replacing old school buildings with smaller schools, lifting the current moratorium on new charter schools and giving principals more jurisdiction over their personnel.
He said that, if elected, he would also create advisory boards that include parents as members.
Cicilline's plan to improve education, which he called "the most important responsibility that we have as a city," was created by Superintendent Donnie Evans, whom Cicilline hired after Evans implemented a similar program in Florida.
A major component of the plan is to implement "whole school effectiveness," which values parent and community involvement, high expectations, a clear vision and mission, principals as leaders and professional development. "Realizing the Dream," as the plan is titled, also entails modernizing schools and transitioning to K-8 schools.
Cicilline said the plan's implementation has already begun. An after-school program is underway for "hundreds and hundreds of middle school students who used to just go home unsupervised," he said.
"We've seen improvements in every year I've been mayor ... but they're modest," Cicilline said. "We're going to see real improvements over the next couple years."
Harrop criticized Cicilline for only releasing the plan recently and not having implemented much of it yet. "This is four years into the mayor's term," he said.
The 800-pound gorillaEarly in his first term, Cicilline negotiated an agreement with the four private colleges and universities in Providence under which each of the tax-exempt institutions makes payments in lieu of property taxes to the city. The PILOT program, as it is called, also stipulates that these institutions pay a regularly declining property tax on new purchases for 15 years after their acquisition.
The PILOT program "generates about $50 million over 20 years," Cicilline said. In addition, the 15-year transition period creates a cushion for the tax rolls until the economic benefits that come with institutional expansion kick in, he said.
One audience member criticized the PILOT program at last week's candidates' night for "mortgaging the next generation."
"Brown University has always been the 800-pound gorilla in Fox Point," the audience member said, pointing out that the University's recent agreement to purchase seven buildings and other properties in the Jewelry District will "eventually take hundreds of thousands of dollars off the tax rolls."
Though Cicilline pointed out that the University creates economic development as it expands, he said he is disappointed by Brown's choice of location.
"The Jewelry District is a natural place for them to be. (But) it's a lost opportunity (to) transform other parts of the city," Cicilline said, adding, "It's not the best way for Brown to grow."
In an interview with The Herald, Harrop agreed that the University's expansion could boost Providence's economy. However, he said, expansion off College Hill only benefits the city "if the University brings in industry, research and the like." Buying new property for administrative use does not have the same economic benefit for Providence, Harrop said.
"I think (Brown) got off easy on the PILOT program," Harrop said at the forum. "Fifteen years means nothing (for an institution that) thinks in centuries," he added.
Harrop called the PILOT program a "cop-out" and suggested alternative methods of collecting revenue from Brown in particular, such as a student activities or service fee.
Both candidates agreed that Brown should make larger non-financial contributions to the city.
"The University needs to be a lot more involved in the city, as (do) all the other colleges," Harrop said. Brown should do more to improve public education and should eventually be the "principal element in a charter school," he said.
In an interview with The Herald, Cicilline reiterated the potential impact of Brown's investment in a needy neighborhood by undertaking "substantial developments through a for-profit real estate corporation."
By developing with the city's interests and not just its own, Brown could "transform an entire neighborhood," Cicilline said.
