EDITORIAL

A call to get involved

Posted 5/25/16

While this year's presidential campaign has already defied expectations and drawn enormous attention, the political season won't come into full focus for most Rhode Islanders until later this summer and fall. The attention of many will turn to other

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EDITORIAL

A call to get involved

Posted

While this year’s presidential campaign has already defied expectations and drawn enormous attention, the political season won’t come into full focus for most Rhode Islanders until later this summer and fall.

The attention of many will turn to other priorities and concerns in the weeks ahead – graduations, vacations, home improvement projects or other summer plans. For others, there may simply be a desire to tune out the din of partisan rhetoric and electioneering for as long as possible.

But for those closely following local contests – and anyone thinking of tossing their proverbial hat into the ring – some highly important dates are just around the corner.

The deadline to file a declaration of candidacy arrives from June 27-29, followed by required dates for endorsements and the submission of nomination papers. By late July, the field of hopefuls for local positions – seats on the city and town councils and school committees, and in the case of Warwick and Cranston, the office of mayor – will be known.

Party primary elections will be held Sept. 13, followed by the general election on Nov. 8. A full list of key dates, and other information for voters and candidates, can be found on the Secretary of State’s website, sos.ri.gov.

A number of candidates have already announced their bids. Contested races for mayor are taking shape in Warwick, where Scott Avedisian is expected to seek re-election, and Cranston, where Allan Fung has already said he will run for a new term. Democrats Richard Corrente of Warwick and Michael Sepe of Cranston kicked off their respective challenges to the Republican incumbents several months ago, and others may yet enter the fray.

Several hopefuls have also announced for City Council and General Assembly seats in Warwick and Cranston. Warwick is poised to see a significant change in the makeup of its council, with multiple incumbents apparently set to move on. In Cranston, Republicans are eying control of the council following a partisan shift that saw the Democratic majority narrow to 5-4.

This year, public dissatisfaction with politicians, government, and the “establishment” in general is running high. Remember that in April, Rhode Islanders gave Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump – both proudly claiming the “outsider” mantle – big wins in the presidential primaries. Recent events on Smith Hill have led to increased calls, from many corners, for reform and change here in the Ocean State.

In the end, the success of our political process relies on engagement. Being informed and involved are the cornerstones of our ideal of citizenship, and we cannot allow frustration and cynicism – however justifiable – to lead to apathy and non-participation.

To seek public office requires much more than simple involvement. Candidates open themselves, and often their families, up to a level of scrutiny few would tolerate.

Of course, we also rightly expect those who seek to represent us will conduct themselves in a manner worthy of our trust. Most candidates and officials we encounter, particularly on the local level, have a genuine desire to serve, and to make their community a better place.

Do you want to see change in your city, or at the State House? Do you want to help shape the public discourse, and tackle the important issues of the day? Do you want to make a positive difference?

Consider running for office, or supporting a neighbor or friend who’s doing so. After all, as the old saying goes: “All politics is local.”

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