To the editor: I first voted in 1980 when I chose Jimmy Carter over Ronald Reagan, and for nearly 40 years I have remained a registered Democrat. Occasionally I could be convinced to vote for a Republican candidate...
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I first voted in 1980 when I chose Jimmy Carter over Ronald Reagan, and for nearly 40 years I have remained a registered Democrat. Occasionally I could be convinced to vote for a Republican candidate, usually at the local level, such as when I voted for Scott Avedisian as mayor of Warwick.
This year, this life-long Democrat will once again be casting a vote for the Republican candidate in the Warwick mayoral race, Sue Stenhouse. I like that she has strong ties to the former administration, and could draw on Scott for advice and support. But I also know Sue well enough to know that her administration will not just be a continuation of Avedisian’s 18 years – she is a strong, independent person who will draw on her many years of experience at multiple levels of government in order to do what is best for our city.
When my wife and I lived in Pawtuxet Village, Sue was our councilwoman and we always found her to be responsive to our observations and concerns. She knows the city from a councilwoman’s perspective but she understands that the mayor’s office is not merely an extension of the city council’s role. Sue has served in the State House as director of emergency preparedness and has demonstrated an ability to carry out large scale public policy, an important function of the mayor’s office.
Sue and I have agreed to disagree on party politics – she has endorsed Bob Flanders for the U.S. Senate, while I happen to like Sheldon Whitehouse both personally and professionally. But at the local levels, party designations in Rhode Island have become meaningless. We have a Democratic State Party Chairman from Warwick, Joe McNamara, who in one House Race gave the party’s official endorsement to a Trump-supporting man over a woman who is a Democratic incumbent. And the Warwick Democratic Party’s City Committee recruited a conservative corporate lawyer, Mark McKenney, to defeat Jeanine Calkin, an incumbent Democratic woman in the Senate District 30 race. In many ways our city and state Democratic committees are more right-leaning than are the few Republican candidates for state and local seats, so please do not be fooled by local party labels.
All things being equal, I would vote for a woman candidate over a man, just in the interest of leveling the playing field. But in our current mayoral race, all things are not equal – Sue Stenhouse is the stronger candidate regardless of gender.
This summer I invested time and money to run in the Democratic primary to be the mayor of Warwick, and if the more than 1,500 people who voted for me would now cast their ballots for Sue Stenhouse, that investment will have proven a good one. Sue is the one brave person who stands between a Super Majority of putative Democrats and their ultimate goal, the mayor’s office. Sue Stenhouse provides us with a strong, independent candidate whose track record proves that her allegiance is not to a political machine but is instead devoted to good public service.
The choice is clear. Please join me in voting for Sue Stenhouse, mayor of Warwick. Sincerely,
Gerald M. Carbone
Balcom Avenue, Warwick
6 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
Justanidiot
Thanks for your unsolicited and unneeded opinion. If this changes letter changes anyones vote, that person needs to be disenfranchised immediately.
Thursday, October 18, 2018 Report this
Cat2222
" I would vote for a woman candidate over a man, just in the interest of leveling the playing field. "
You know what is more important than voting for a woman just because she is a woman? Voting for the most qualified candidate. Why bring gender into it when gender hasn't been an issue since she announced her running? You honestly think that her ties to Avedisian are a plus? What the city needs now more than ever is a change from the same old routine of doing business. Sue will bring us right back to the early 2000's! Hopefully, the 1,500 people that voted for you are not following your advice.
Thursday, October 18, 2018 Report this
Bob_Cushman
I just received by mail a campaign flyer from Sue Stenhouse where she sites as an example of an accomplishment that she served as a representative for the city council on the RIPEC (RI Public Expenditure Council) Municipal Consolidation Committee over a decade ago.
I also served on that same committee representing the Warwick School Department as Chairman of the school committee.
The committee was commissioned by the City Council to determine where school and city operations could be streamlined and consolidated to save money. One of the issues with consolidation has always been the enormous difference in City employee retiree benefits to school department retirement costs.
Remarkably, RIPEC never performed the analysis of the city side of the budget focusing on these benefits. While on the committee I requested multiply times that RIPEC perform that analysis.
Sue Stenhouse rejected that request multiply times.
During the RIPEC presentation of the report to the city council, the Council President noted that “he thought the $35,000 was allocated for both school and city review, but noted that the comparison did not have ‘quite as much depth on the city side’”.
Even after the report was published, Stenhouse never championed the cause and basically let it sit on the shelf collecting dust.
Now she wants voters to believe this she was the architect to some major reforms.
How can anyone trust Sue Stenhouse when she sites token appointments as accomplishments and uses double talk and deceptive gimmicks (cross dressing incident) throughout her career to fool citizens into believing she was effective?
This is just more reason why voters need to compare what Sue Stenhouse says to what Sue Stenhouse actually did and they will realize she is not qualified to serve as Mayor.
Friday, October 19, 2018 Report this
Thecaptain
When Mr. Carbone came to my house to visit me, we spoke for over an hour. He had no idea of any of the issues that plague this city. He did not understand the budget process, had never attended a budget hearing, and had no idea on what the unfunded liabilities were.
He lacked the basic fundamental knowledge of municipal finance. It was embarrassing. For him to make any endorsement is not only laughable and without merit, but without any educational background on the subject at hand.
Nice guy, but no clue.
Friday, October 19, 2018 Report this
WarwickObserver
This is a really sad move by a candidate that called himself: "a true Democrat". Democrat or Republican, failed candidates should support the party nominee. He is exercising worse judgement than Sue did when you ordered her subordinate to dress up like an old lady.
Saturday, October 20, 2018 Report this
steveb2018
This endorsement absolutely defies belief. You ran as the "True Democrat" in the Democratic race for Mayor of Warwick and now your backing the the Republican candidate. Needless to say it is frankly disingenuous and an insult to those who consider themselves Democrats. One would have to wonder if you won would you have stepped aside for the Republican candidate? That being noted you said you are supporting Stenhouse since she will continue Avedisian's policies. Frankly as a taxpayer I think fiscal mismanagement needs to end. The Avedisian record of 17 consecutive tax increases is not a record to be emulated or continued. Now we see that the former administration had side deals at the expense of the taxpayers of the city. Candidate Stenhouse has been silent on both issues. Lighthouses and streetlights don't create careers. Again, I think we deserve better and we will with Joseph Solomon continuing as Mayor. We are already seeing a shift in the focus of economic development in the city from a retail/tourism centered approach to real economic growth with the establishment of a medical tourism hub. I also think that we need a Mayor that is going to move our city forward and displays the quality of prudent judgement and integrity. You failed to mention the elephant in the room, her lack of judgement as the Director of the Cranston Senior Center. I'm sorry but this in my opinion disqualifies her as a qualified candidate.This incident made National news and will only serve as an embarrassment to the City. This is not the time to go backwards, it is a time for vision and not just complaining. As a life long Democrat I find this flip flopping by so-called Democrats offensive and only self serving. And by the way the best candidate is our Mayor, Joseph Solomon.
Tuesday, October 23, 2018 Report this