SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2018
VOLUME CLII, ISSUE 58
WWW.BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
City Council hopefuls talk housing, city finances Power plant divides Incumbent Yurdin, Gaines ’16 fight to represent Ward 1, Zurier, Holt, Feinstein for Ward 2 By DYLAN MAJSIAK SENIOR STAFF WRITER
In the first week back at Brown, students on and off campus may have noticed a range of City Council electoral signs adorning peoples’ gardens. YURDIN and GAINES signs, for instance, can be seen from the corner of India Street all the way up to Fones Alley. Providence residents will select party representatives for City Council races Wednesday, Sept. 12. Ward 1 is made up of neighborhoods including Fox Point, Wayland and parts of College Hill and downtown Providence, while the University primarily falls under the jurisdiction of Ward 2. Residents of Wards 1 and 2 will vote for their councilpeople directly in Wednesday’s party primary, since both have only Democratic candidates and no general election opponent. Providence has a total of 15 wards, and each elects one representative to City Council. The Council adopts the city’s annual budget and passes ordinances on city governance and citizen welfare. In Ward 1, incumbent Seth Yurdin is seeking re-election for his fourth term but is challenged by community activist Justice Gaines ’16. In Ward 2,
Sam Zurier previously held the seat for councilperson but announced that he would step down following the end of his second term, according to his May newsletter. Ward 2 Committee favorite Helen Anthony, attorney and member of the Providence Zoning Board, will face off against attorney Ryan Holt and Mark Feinstein, businessman and former professor at Bryant University. “The City Council itself is sort of divided,” said Gabriel Mernoff ’22 and Providence native. “Everybody’s either a moderate, middle-class interest Democrat or a really progressive working-class (Democrat).” Ward 1 Yu r d i n w a s elected to the City Council in 2006 a n d again i n
2010 and 2014. Yurdin said his term has been characterized by a commitment to progressive issues, referencing the time he had a “direct showdown” with former mayor David Cicilline ’83 in order to reform the Providence External Review Authority, which is a system of civilian oversight over the Providence Police Department, and his creation of the Energy and Sustainability Task Force, which aims to minimize waste and prevent pollution. “We’ve gotten a lot of important » See COUNCIL, page 4
gubernatorial candidates Raimondo faces Brown, Dickinson while Fung, Feroce, Morgan vie to be Republican nominee By SOPHIE CULPEPPER SENIOR STAFF WRITER
This Wednesday will determine which two of the six contending candidates will represent the Republican and Democratic parties in the Rhode Island general gubernatorial election in November. The five independent candidates who are running in the general election will not appear on the primary ballots. The incumbent, Gov. Gina Raimondo, is
an election issue
DAPHNE ZHAO / HERALD
challenged by former State Representative Spencer Dickinson and former Secretary of State Matt Brown on the Democratic ballot. Among the Republicans, Cranston Mayor Allan Fung is running against former businessman and military officer Giovanni Feroce and R.I. House Minority Leader Patricia Morgan. During the last general election in 2014, Fung lost to Raimondo with 36.3 percent of the vote to Raimondo’s 40.8 percent. A July 2018 Fleming and Associates poll projecting a face off between these two candidates measured Raimondo’s lead on Fung at 2.2 percent. Gina Raimondo One of two female governors in the nation, Raimondo emphasizes the gubernatorial race in both a national and local context. While Rhode Islanders prioritize “creating jobs and investing in training and education, so everyone can succeed in today’s economy,” they also perceive “risk” in this election and “want a governor who is willing to stand up against the Trump administration’s agenda,” Raimondo wrote in an email to The Herald. She cited her specific opposition to oil drilling off the R.I. coast and support for taking guns from domestic abusers as examples of her own consistent opposition to President Trump. Raimondo hears Rhode Islanders voicing concerns most often about “creating jobs and strengthening our economy; keeping schools safe from gun » See GOVERNOR, page 3
Republican, Dem. races Five House contenders vie for seat Rep. David for Senate hotly contested Incumbent Cicilline ’83 runs against Sen. Whitehouse faces Fontes in Dem. primary, De La Fuente challenges Flanders in Rep. primary By ALEX REICE SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The Sept. 12 primaries for an open U.S. Senate seat in Rhode Island are fast approaching as both Democratic and Republican candidates attempt to catch their party’s nomination and position themselves to defeat incumbent Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. Gearing up to challenge Whitehouse in the Democratic primaries is Hopkinton native Pat Fontes, while Roque De La Fuente and Robert Flanders ’71 compete for the Republican nomination. On the Democratic side of the primary, Whitehouse, a well-funded and widely known incumbent, is challenged by Fontes, an esoteric anti-war
INSIDE
advocate. For the Republicans, a California native and career candidate De La Fuente attempts to defeat a respected former R.I. Supreme Court Judge, Flanders. The disparities between candidates is well represented in the amount of money they’ve raised. Whitehouse has raised almost $5 million, and Flanders follows with around $605,000, according to Followthemoney.org. Fontes and De La Fuente have not reported raising any money. The Democrats Whitehouse has held the Senate seat since 2007, serving before as the Attorney General of Rhode Island. On the Senate, he serves on the Budget, Environment and Public Works, Judiciary and Finance committees. He has been an outspoken critic of President Trump and has been vocal about climate change. “I’ve been leading the » See SENATE, page 2
conspiracy theorist Christopher Young
By JACK BROOK STAFF WRITER
Voters in Rhode Island’s First Congressional District will head to the polls Sept. 12 to select their candidates in the Democratic and Republican congressional primaries. Incumbent Rep. David Cicilline ’83, D-R.I., will seek his fifth term running on a robust liberal platform that emphasizes lowering health care costs and increasing economic growth through American manufacturing. Cicilline has been a rising figure in Congress, serving on the House Judiciary Committee and acting as a vocal critic of President Donald Trump’s administration. He drew media attention for his defense of recently fired FBI agent Peter Strzok,
formerly an investigator for the Mueller probe. “What we ought to be doing is protecting the special counsel’s investigation,” Cicilline said. “It’s very dangerous when you have a president and elected officials attacking the rule of law.” Cicilline also hopes to continue fighting to reduce the influence of corporate capital and lobbying power in Washington, D.C. He’s taken a pledge not to accept corporate money to fund his campaign. “We need to check the pervasive influence of corruption in Washington,” Cicilline said, “in order to raise ethical standards to get the government working again for the people.” Cicilline has long pushed for responsible gun control measures and climate action. He is a member of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and has introduced the American Opportunity Carbon Fee Act, which would impose a fee on carbon and greenhouse emissions. Cicilline
also helped prevent drilling off Rhode Island’s shores by co-sponsoring the New England Coastal Protection Act. In the tight gubernatorial race between progressive candidate Matt Brown and incumbent Gov. Gina Raimondo, Cicilline said that he will endorse Raimondo, citing the state’s economic growth and stability under her tenure. Contending against Cicilline for the Democratic nomination is Christopher Young, who ran against Cicilline in the 2016 District 1 primary and received one-third of the vote. Young has shared conspiracy theories through his Facebook page, including one that linked Hillary Clinton to the death of John F. Kennedy Jr., as reported by the Providence Journal. Young’s campaign website states that he has been “fighting against corruption all his life.” One of his top priorities is removing the federal highway tolls in Rhode » See HOUSE, page 4
WEATHER
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2018
SPORTS D’Andrea ’20 knocks in gamewinning goal in overtime to down Colonials 2-1
METRO Incumbent mayor Jorge Elorza to face-off against Kobi Dennis, Robert DeRobbio Sept. 12
COMMENTARY Paxson P’19, Locke P’18: U. remains committed to academic freedom for researchers
METRO McKee, Regunberg ’12, Pence run for lieutenant governor in state primaries
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