GOP campaign kickoff, but no local candidates

By JOHN HOWELL
Posted 2/4/20

By JOHN HOWELL On Thursday, Warwick GOP chair Richard Cascella checked to see how many reservations he'd received for the party's campaign kickoff pasta and meatball dinner at the K of C Hall on Sandy Lane. It looked bleak; six had signed up for the

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GOP campaign kickoff, but no local candidates

Posted

On Thursday, Warwick GOP chair Richard Cascella checked to see how many reservations he’d received for the party’s campaign kickoff pasta and meatball dinner at the K of C Hall on Sandy Lane. It looked bleak; six had signed up for the Saturday event. Cascella wondered if he should cancel.

Saturday evening, however, wearing an apron and stacking folding chairs on tables as people left the hall, Cascella could have been singing. The event was a success, drawing about 70 people. It was what he had hoped for and more. A number of party faithful who couldn’t stay for the pasta and presentations by former GOP gubernatorial candidate Ken Block and House Minority Leader Rep. Blake Filippi had left checks.

Cascella said he was delighted by the turnout, and adding to the party’s piggybank didn’t hurt either.

But the party is far from mounting a challenge to city Democrats, who hold every state and council elective office in Warwick. Not a single Republican has declared for any of the 12 city offices (including mayor and two at-large School Committee seats) or nine state House of Representatives or Senate seats (not including West Warwick and Coventry districts that have a small piece of Warwick).

Cascella said a couple of people have talked to him about running for council and the School Committee, which is a nonpartisan office, but until they have committed he’s not naming names.

What about a candidate for mayor?

Cascella said no one has talked to him about running for mayor. Inquiries of others at the kickoff likewise produced no names of potential Republican candidates for mayor.

Former Ward 1 Republican councilwoman Sue Stenhouse, who ran for mayor in 2018, losing to Democrat Joseph J. Solomon, was in attendance. Now working for the minority leadership at the State House – she accompanied Filippi to the event – Stenhouse said nothing about seeking a rematch. Cascella noted her candidacy in 2018 as well as her efforts to have Filippi speak to the gathering.

“She’s a shining star for the Republican Party,” she said.

Block, who doesn’t live in Warwick, was the one to criticize the city’s Democratic leadership. A Warwick businessman, Block most recently urged the council to delay passage of the tentative three-year firefighters contract. He talked about the city’s unfunded liability, which he put at more than $800 million in pension and other post-employment benefits (OPEB).

Block has labeled the administration’s much-touted firefighters OPEB Trust Fund, which is part of the contract signed last week, as nothing more than “an annuity.” Firefighters hired after July 2019 are to pay 2 percent of their pay into the fund with the understanding that it will be used to help pay for health insurance on their retirement. The administration projects the fund will reduce the city cost of health insurance for those who participated in the plan by about 27 percent.

Reached Monday, Block said he focused on the “outrageous behavior of the five council members who attempted to ram it [firefighters contract] through just before Christmas. If ever there was a reason to vote the bums out, this is a reason.”

Filippi focused on state issues and legislation he plans to introduce directed at getting Brown University to pay more than $7 million in PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) to the City of Providence. Based on the assessment of property owned by Brown, Filippi said Brown should be paying $40 million in taxes. He said the university owns $1 billion in Providence real estate and has a $4.1 billion endowment portfolio.

Filippi sees the tax revenue generated by his legislation as helping to pay to send Providence school students to out-of-district schools.

Asked how he justified a tax on Brown when earlier in his comments he was critical of state taxes and how they are driving people of wealth out of state while discouraging businesses from locating here, which makes it difficult for our young people to find jobs and stay in Rhode Island, Filippi said it’s an issue of equity.

“We don’t want to run them [Brown] out. They’re a good citizen,” he said.

What about other nonprofits and eliminating nonprofit tax exemptions across the board?

Filippi said he had considered that, but he didn’t think many churches would survive if required to pay property taxes.

Filippi also talked about House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello and how the Joint Committee on Legislative Services, of which Mattiello is the chair and Filippi one of five members, directed an audit of the Convention Center without a committee vote. Filippi and the state GOP brought suit seeking an injunction over the issue. Mattiello has since withdrawn the directive for an audit, but Filippi said they will pursue the matter in expectation that the judge will find Mattiello overstepped his authority and reinforce that such actions require a board vote.

Comments

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  • Justanidiot

    get off yer asses republicans. if you can't even find a warm body to run in these erections much less a real candidate, the time has come to shut up your squawking. put up or shut up

    Tuesday, February 4, 2020 Report this

  • bill123

    Republican Avedisian delayed leaving office just long enough to avoid a special election, allowing a Democrat (Solomon) to assume the mayor’s position with no effort, thereby handing him an advantage over all challengers, including fellow republicans in the 2018 election. So it appears some “republicans” are not who they say. Seems like the state is locked into one party, and the game is rigged in more ways than one. The ES&S voting machines are also a well-concealed issue.

    Tuesday, February 4, 2020 Report this

  • FASTFREDWARD4

    HMMMMMMM

    Thursday, February 6, 2020 Report this

  • MikeUnderwood1

    Just an idiot, and others.

    Come on down and help us. I challenge everyone who wants change to come on down and help us instead of being a keyboard warrior. I put up by being a former candidate twice for rep district 21. And now as vice chair.

    Did you come to the library meeting?

    Do you follow us on Facebook?

    Have you donated?

    Are you a right leaning independent ?

    Are you a Republican?

    We are newly reformed, and as of the January meeting elected a new functioning board. We want you to come to our monthly meetings.

    Next meeting is February 11 at 7 pm gop headquarters in the airport shopping plaza

    Again I openly challenge everyone to get involved.

    Don’t read to far into “no candidates” I personally have had over a doz n interviews. We are actively meeting and recruiting candidates. We were left with no money and had to start with that first.

    Respectfully

    Mike

    Thursday, February 6, 2020 Report this