New leaders coming to gov’s office, City Hall

MEET AND GREET: Mayor-elect Jorge Elorza shakes hands with Zita Bolton at LaSalle Bakery the day after winning his race against Vincent A.
MEET AND GREET: Mayor-elect Jorge Elorza shakes hands with Zita Bolton at LaSalle Bakery the day after winning his race against Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci Jr. / PBN PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO

Alec Beckett, creative partner at Nail Communications Inc., had a nervous election night on Nov. 4.
His Providence advertising agency, which usually stays out of politics, had openly opposed independent mayoral candidate Vincent A. “Buddy” Cianci Jr. – and early returns suggested Cianci was winning.
“In our mind this wasn’t about politics; it was about ethics, so we deviated from our usual position and came out strong,” Beckett said. “I was nervous when I saw the results come in and it looked like Buddy had a decent lead. Then the East Side votes came in and I went from resigned to relief.”
The Providence mayoral race, won by Democrat Jorge Elorza with 53 percent of the vote, divided local businesses along a set of unique and unusual fault lines that unlike, say, the race for governor, drew companies like Nail outside of their normal comfort zone.
Cianci boasted support from many small businesses with local customers, and older Providence companies, including developers, who remembered the city’s revival during his previous term in the 1990s. But Nail’s opposition represented an undercurrent of concern among younger businesses, startups and companies working outside the city, that Cianci’s notorious national reputation might rub off on them.
“We compete a lot with New York and Boston firms and Providence is something we have to explain to people – it’s become part of our brand,” Beckett said. “The narrative of the city as an up-and-coming, arts-oriented, progressive and diverse place plays well with our story. If Buddy had been elected we would have been playing defense.”
Projecting what Gov.-elect Gina M. Raimondo’s victory will mean for the Providence and Rhode Island economies going forward is more difficult.
Raimondo’s platform of bringing back middle-class jobs didn’t contain too many policy specifics aside from a strong call to invest in manufacturing. The Raimondo administration could add a new wrinkle to the ongoing redevelopment of the former Interstate 195 land in Providence, which she has suggested could become the site of a state-sponsored advanced manufacturing institute.
“We are thrilled,” said Rhode Island Manufacturers Association Executive Director Bill McCourt about the election. “Most of the candidates I talked to support manufacturing and understood the significance from an economic and jobs perspective.”
McCourt said he looks forward to working with Raimondo on integrating her plan to build the advanced-manufacturing institute, with plans already in the works for a design and manufacturing center using a federal defense-department grant.
Both Raimondo and Republican opponent Allan Fung, the Cranston mayor, campaigned on being business friendly and boasted support from the corporate community.
Raimondo’s election all but guarantees that the state’s credit rating will be protected against a default on the 38 Studios bonds.
It also further solidifies the state’s path on the pension overhaul, still being fought in court by public workers, she started as treasurer.
“I think Gina will be a great governor; she knows how to get things done,” said Joseph Paolino Jr., managing partner of Paolino Properties, who also backed Cianci and led the unsuccessful campaign for allowing table games at Newport Grand.
The Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce remained neutral in all races between candidates but did campaign in favor of all four of the state bond referendums authorizing $248 million in combined new borrowing, which all passed with more than 60 percent of the vote. •

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