Election 2018: Providence Mayor's Race: Preview

PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island has several key races on Nov. 6, including U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse's race against Barrington's Bob Flanders; Cong. David Cicilline's run against Newport's Patrick Donovan; and Cong. James Langevin's race against Salvatore Caiozzo, of West Greenwich.

Most of the suspense has focused on the governor's race, which is now "likely Democratic," according to RealClear Politics. Incumbent and Democrat Gina Raimondo is facing Republican Allan Fung, the Cranston mayor; as well as Independents Joe Trillo and Dr. Luis-Daniel Munoz; the Moderate Party's William Gilbert and the Compassion Party's Anne Armstrong. Raimondo spent millions beating Matt Brown in the Primary. In October, she spent $1.1 million more, while Fung spent almost $800,000.

Besides the governor's contest, the race attracting the most attention is the contest for Providence mayor.

The race for Providence mayor is a three-way event, with two independents running against the incumbent. The incumbent is Democrat Mayor Jorge Elorza; the challengers are Dianne "Dee Dee" Witman and Jeffrey Lemire.

Elorza is finishing his first term as mayor. He defeated the colorful Buddy Cianci, who ran as an Independent. Witman has not run for elected office before, but she served 20 years on the Providence Building Authority and is well known as a fundraiser for charities, non-profit organizations and political campaigns. Lemire is a "semi-retired" concrete construction worker. This campaign is his first time on the ballot. He plans to return to work in a few months, he said.

The contest has turned into one of the state's most-watched since Witman launched her campaign in September. Voters have been bombarded with mailers and television ads.

"We've been all over cable," Witman said about her campaign ads. But that's just for the ads her campaign created. Two other ads, paid for by a SuperPAC "It's Time Providence" supporting her, have also been airing on the state's biggest stations with the sassy slogan, "Want a better view? Get a better mayor." The PAC reported a $50,000 contribution received from Alan Hassenfeld, a businessman formerly of Hasbro. Witman chipped in $500,000 of her own money.

Her campaign had about $400,000 left going into the final weekend. Elorza's campaign had more than $600,000 in reserve, while Lemire had zero. He has not spent any money on the race. In an interview with Patch, he suggested the reason the race has drawn so much publicity might be connected to money, which his two opponents spent on television and digital advertising.

Nonetheless, the big issues have included crime, the city's $1 billion unfunded pension liability, municipal finances, property taxes, plans to monetize the Providence Water Authority, and the schools.

WPRI-TV has reported there's no independent polling on this race, so nobody really can predict the outcome until the votes are all counted on Tuesday.

Related Stories: Interview with Mayor Jorge Elorza; Interview with Dianne "Dee Dee" Witman; Interview with Jeffrey Lemire.

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