Providence Mayor's Race: Interview With Jeffrey Lemire

PROVIDENCE, RI —The race for Providence mayor is a three-way contest, 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. For the election, he has a Facebook page but plans to take the page down after the polls close.

Patch interviewed all three candidates. Here is Lemire's interview.

"Four years ago, I tried getting on the ballot," he said. "It's a feat in itself." He lives in South Providence, went door to door and collected 500 signatures. But being a political newcomer, he didn't know he could submit the signatures every day as he collected them. He handed submitted them all at the end; and when it turned out his South Providence neighbors weren't registered voters, he didn't qualify.

This time, he tried a different tactic.

"I went straight to the East Side Marketplace," he said and asked women between the ages of 40 and 60 to sign. "This politics can really wear on your skin," he said, and he didn't like the rejections. But he found women in his target age group typically signed his campaign papers. They weren't going to vote for him, they said. But they believe everybody deserves a chance too run

"Obviously, I'm not going to win," he said, although he has some ideas about what he would do, of he were elected.

Lemire has not raised any money for his campaign or spent any money because he objects to the system. He had some opportunities, he said, but ultimately decided against it.

"I'm not going to represent Benjamin Franklin or Andrew Jackson or George Washington," he said. "That's the problem we have. It's all about money."People don't contribute to a political campaign unless they believe they will get something, he said. He sees a lot of "lost souls" in our country, meaning, he said, people who could make a contribution but don't think they can make a difference.

Lemire grew up in Woonsocket. He was raised by his divorced mother and grandparents. His grandmother was a schoolteacher. He went into construction and was working with a company in Coventry. He and a friend brought a house in Providence to "flip" it as an investment. They succeeded, but he stayed on living in Providence.

He's not married and doesn't have any children yet but has not given up on the idea, he said.

"I do ok," he said, but it's not all about him. "I genuinely care about the neighborhood and what I see," he said. He's running because "nobody gets involved," he said.

In this case, he said, Elorza's the man the Democratic Party wants in the mayor's office. (He told the two Primary candidates they were wasting their time because they'd never win.) Witman did file papers but at the last minute. If she hadn't, he said, it would have been "really bad" because he would lave been the only challenger. And he's been largely ignored.

But given the fact "anything could happen," this is what he would do, if elected.

"The water is off the table," he said, referring to the mayor's plans to generate revenues from the Providence Water Authority. (Witman also announced a plan.) "I would never have that discussion again."

He would also start "the big audit."

Providence should consider hiring people to do the jobs like busing the children, repairing the schools, and fixing the roads, instead of contracting the work out. He also would favor selling homeowners' insurance to get revenues, he said.

On quality of life issues, he would stop the sale of cigarettes.

Asked about the billion dollar unfunded pension liability, he needs more research on that but would consider a bond question.

"A one-time" borrowing, he said, "to get us out of the hole."

But if he's not elected, he will not be too disappointed, he said.

"If the people don't want it, the people don't want it," he said. "Life is going to go on."

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

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