LETTERS

Opportunities for Corrente

Posted 2/18/16

To the Editor:

One has to admire the commitment and fortitude of Richard Corrente, “Democrat for Mayor of Warwick 2016”, for throwing his hat in the ring at such an early stage.

But it begs …

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LETTERS

Opportunities for Corrente

Posted

To the Editor:

One has to admire the commitment and fortitude of Richard Corrente, “Democrat for Mayor of Warwick 2016”, for throwing his hat in the ring at such an early stage.

But it begs the question though Richard, is it at all necessary? After all, this is RI’s second or third largest city and Democrats outnumber Republicans numerously to one, so my take is that you could be relaxing on the beach until September and still just walk in the door come November.

Unless there is something in the new book, RI Politics for Dummies, that can shed some light on the way things truly work in the murky world of our city’s dealings? A city where almost every Council, House and Senate seat is held by a Democrat, and for any Republican to succeed indicates that Warwick’s voters are clinical in their preferred choices and no “Master Lever” style voting across the board for them.

It was quite noteworthy to see how the media attention last time round was on the Republican primary, even giving it a televised debate, and not the actual final itself. It will be interesting to see if there is the same journalistic hunger this year and perhaps a real debate could be on the cards? One where true Republican values can go toe to toe with vague Democratic ideals.

While Richard’s campaign manifesto is quite admirable, almost Republican even (?), Warwick’s leaders sadly still support some key initiatives that if challenged, could provide him with some excellent opportunities to forge an even stronger argument for his selection.

For example, one of the most important hot topics right now, and taking a leaf from Senator John Pagliarini’s (R) excellent recent success in District 11, is Stop Tolls RI. Richard could not do a lot worse than come out right now saying that if he wins, Warwick under his leadership, would not support tolls.

RhodeMap RI is another where making some strong statements that if elected mayor, he will reject further encroachment of this plan on the city, could add a lot of credibility to his campaign.

Obviously taking on too many other Republican platforms, while encouraged, might not suit Richard, but in a real face off it would be a fine contest to see if the true Democrat will actually step forward. And in the meantime, I am off to Amazon for that book…

Capt. Ian Bowles, MNI

Warwick

Comments

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  • richardcorrente

    Dear Ian,

    Thank you for your kind words. For the record I am very opposed to the toll booths and have written to the Beacon "Toll Booths are Tax Booths". I agree that the need is there. We haven't repaired our roads and bridges in decades but adding this tax doesn't mean our elected officials will spent a dime of it on the repairs they "promised". I see this tax evolving into the general fund just like The Lottery profits did. (Remember how it was supposed to go to "schools"?)

    Just say "No!" on the toll booth issue. Make R.I. a less expensive place to live and more people will want to live here!

    Enjoy the Spring-like weather.

    Richard Corrente

    Democrat for Mayor - 2016

    Thursday, February 18, 2016 Report this

  • AryaStark

    Richard Corrente for Mayor 2016! It's time for a new mayor! Please help reduce the out of control property taxes and fix our school budget!

    Thursday, February 25, 2016 Report this

  • patientman

    Has the Warwick democratic party endorsed Mr. Corrente? I'm pretty sure they already have their un-endorsed candidate in the mayors office. The R next to his name means nothing.

    Tuesday, March 1, 2016 Report this

  • richardcorrente

    Dear AryaStark,

    Thank you for your kind words. I promise I will "Cut Taxes. Cut Spending". And having a school budget that costs the taxpayers $160,000,000 with NO TEACHERS CONTRACTS is totally unacceptable. So is having the schools pay for the city's bond interest. I will get it paid back! The city doesn't pay the school departments bills. The school department shouldn't pay the city's!

    Enjoy the early Spring.

    Richard Corrente

    Democrat for Mayor

    Friday, March 4, 2016 Report this

  • richardcorrente

    Dear Patientman,

    As of today, 3-4-2016, the Warwick Democrats have not yet endorsed me. I honestly believe they will soon as I have provided more effort in the last 447 days than all previous candidates combined and I still have 8 months to go. I've been in the Beacon 38 times with ads, articles, editorials, Letters-to-the-Editor, half page color ads, Spotlight on Business articles, and front-cover ads in the Pennysaver, as well as many other print media.

    My June, 2015 Fundraiser was attended by 140 supporters who deposited thousands of dollars into my campaign fund. I have met with over a thousand voters face-to-face, and have most of their names in my database. I've had promotions at dozens of commercial and residential locations. I have giant signs, a-frame signs, banners, postcards by the thousands, mailouts, handouts, on-line ads, bumper sticker stickers, pens, hats,pins, sissors, calculators, napkins, cookies,you name it!

    So the present Mayor can keep trying to "act like a Democrat" but you and I know better. He's not. And speaking of knowing better. If the Mayor didn't know about the massive and blatant thefts of David Laplante , he's stupid. If he did know, he's an accomplice to a felony in my opinion. His "hands off" policy is wholly unfair to the taxpayers. As Mayor, I will be accountable.

    Sincerely,

    Richard Corrente

    Democrat for mayor

    Friday, March 4, 2016 Report this