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A sad goodbye to my complicated friend Buddy

By Christopher Curran
Posted 2/3/16

This past week, Rhode Island lost a political colossus who had changed the landscape of our capital city forever. He was a charismatic retail politician who humorously used to say he “would go to …

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A sad goodbye to my complicated friend Buddy

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This past week, Rhode Island lost a political colossus who had changed the landscape of our capital city forever. He was a charismatic retail politician who humorously used to say he “would go to the opening of an envelope.” Vincent Albert Cianci Jr. was known to Rhode Islanders and the rest of the country as simply “Buddy.”

Buddy fit the mold of old-time mayors who ruled with a mixture of charm and determined force to achieve their operational and political goals. In an attempt to insure political longevity, he and his people pressured special interests for support. That political reality corroded his tenure in office and tainted his legacy. In his wake, opinions vary in understanding of this unique man, this enigma, this complicated individual, the mayor.

His rise from his comfortable upbringing as the son of a physician in the Laurel Hill section of Cranston to become the mayor of the capital city for a total of 21 years was an extraordinary course. For that matter, the whole of his life experience was chocked full of both triumph and tragedy.

Buddy was an intellectual with a vast institutional memory who seemed to know everybody and could instantly ingratiate himself with wit and consolation. He was also compelled by a vindictiveness to those he considered enemies. If Buddy liked you, he loved you and was utterly loyal to you. If Buddy despised you, you needed to be vigilant against reprisals.

For the last nine years on his radio show on WPRO radio, I was a call-in presence almost daily between 5:30 and 6. He dubbed me “Chris the Furniture Man.” I also substituted on occasion for Rhode Island radio legend Ron St. Pierre, who was his co-host in past years. We developed an immediate rapport and spoke both on and off the air.

Of course, I had read about him for almost 40 years and had read his memoir “Politics and Pasta.” Also, I had read the scandalous account of his terms in office written by the Providence Journal’s Mike Stanton in the book “The Prince of Providence.”

Yet with all that information, I formed a different opinion of his character than was depicted in either book. In the end, I enjoyed his company and he will always reside in my memories as my friend.

When I arrived in Rhode Island in 1979, Providence was a shabby, decaying mill city. Through a concerted effort led by Buddy Cianci, by the 1990s, Providence was deemed one of the United States’ “Most Livable Cities” by several national periodicals and was called the “Renaissance City of the Northeast.” Over his second period in office (1991-2002), two rivers were moved, the Providence Place Mall was completed, the Providence Ice Rink was finished, grand hotels were built and refurbished, fine dining establishments were opened, the attractive WaterFire public entertainment spectacle commenced, and the Providence Performing Arts Center was renovated and renewed, all with the assistance and leadership from the mayor’s office.

Along with these tremendous successes, there were questions about undue influence exerted on businesses that had contracts with the city. These questions led to the federal “Plunder Dome” investigation. Although Cianci was acquitted of 26 of 27 charges under the RICO statute, and although he was never proven to have directly received any graft or extorted monies, he was convicted of the top count of the indictment, which was running a criminal enterprise. He was sentenced to five years in federal prison at Fort Dix, N.J., by Judge Ernest Torres. Torres, in his sentencing soliloquy, stated that Cianci was a “Jekyll and Hyde” personality.

Some believed the conviction was unjust due to the 26 undercharges being rendered unproven. Some believed he was convicted because during his first period in office (1974-1984) he was guilty of putting Mafia-tied individuals on the public sector payroll. Others believed his conviction represented just deserts, a repayment to a vengeful bully who would do anything to those who got in his way.

With an upper middle-class upbringing, Buddy had opportunities that he used to his advantage. He attended Moses Brown School, and he obtained a degree in government from Fairfield University, a master’s in political science from Villanova University, and a JD from Marquette University Law School. He received a commission as an officer in the army. Thus he established the foundational credentials to truly succeed at the highest levels in politics.

Perhaps ironically, he was an anti-organized crime assistant attorney general in Rhode Island before he ran for mayor. After defeating the entrenched Democrat Joe Doorley, as an Italian American Republican, he was well on his way to lofty future political heights. He was considered on the long list of possible vice-presidential running mates for President Gerald Ford.

Eight years later, he assaulted a man named Raymond De Leo, whom he had accused of sleeping with his ex-wife Shelia. This reckless act led to his conviction of a felony, by means of a plea of no contest in 1984. This forced his resignation from office. His vengefulness had sabotaged his future plans.

But Cianci was always politically deciduous!

Buddy’s 1990 campaign slogan – “He never stopped caring about Providence” – was what he conveyed more effectively than his opponents, independent Fred Lippitt and Democrat Andrew Annaldo. In this often-caustic three-way race, Cianci triumphed by a slim margin of 317 votes.

The pivot point of the race was believed to be a debate in which Cianci defined his competitors as “the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper” in reference to the excessive pensions that the two opposing candidates would realize.

Buddy Cianci was an emperor of the extemporaneous. His sometimes venomous wit could bludgeon political enemies and simultaneously humorously engage the voter. “Buddyisms” such as a “Furtada” – which meant a hopeless mess, usually a political mistake – referring to prison as a “gated community,” naming his dog “Rico” after his conviction, calling his toupee “the squirrel,” and recently, saying at the unveiling of his portrait that “I have been framed before,” were just a few examples of his mischievous mind that frustrated some and endeared others.

Ocean State notables have varying opinions on Buddy. His friend Gary Sasse from the Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership stated: “He fit the mold of the old-school mayor, mission-focused.” H. Philip West, former director of Common Cause of RI, said: “During Cianci’s second tenure as mayor I witnessed his magic in person,” and “There’s the humor and the attention to detail and the vision, but there’s also the vindictive side that could make Buddy a bully.” The Brookings Institution’s Darrell West offered: “He was the city’s biggest cheerleader when he was mayor and worked hard to push the area forward and renovate the downtown.”

In my opinion, all of those sentiments are true. Buddy was complicated, brilliant, politically talented, vengeful and petty, and a real visionary who foresaw the dreams of what Providence could be and eventually drove those aspirations to come to fruition.

Reflecting on when I first met Buddy, I owned a multi-family house in Silver Lake, Providence, and my wife at the time and I attended a fair at the church. Suddenly a whirlwind blew through the hall. He became the focal point of everyone in the room. He knew every other person, their families, and instantly charmed everyone he touched. An avalanche of quips, half hugs, handshakes, and manufactured merriment entranced all the potential voters who were present. Half an hour later, he was gone, a positive wind of assurance leaving the feeling that everything would be all right in his wake.

Later on, when he started on WPRO, I became a regular caller to his show. He enjoyed my participation, which led to my filling in on the station (I was a radio broadcaster for years in my youth). We found that we had certain commonalities, a love of the philosophies of Italian theologian Thomas Aquinas and a passion for politics and history. Beyond politics, Buddy held an extensive knowledge on a myriad of subjects, and I think those diversions were a rest from the expected dialogue from him. We did not often speak off-microphone, often but the few times we did were intriguing.

When he lost his dear daughter Nicole, I send him a condolence card with a short letter inside. I shared with him the grief that I felt for the many people dear to me that I had lost and how I had coped with those devastations.

He was greatly appreciative of the heartfelt anecdotes that I conveyed. It was one of the few occasions that I am aware of where he dropped his utilitarian enigmatic veneer and revealed his sorrow.

All in all, Vincent A. Cianci Jr. was an extraordinary, albeit imperfect, political wizard. I do not believe he was a “Jekyll and Hyde” personality, but a sometimes vengeful political engineer. For all his great accomplishments, he suffered the demons that many old school political mavens do. They yearn to be the catalyst of great positive change and they strive to retain the power that enables that pursuit. As a result, they often rationalize over-stepping the bounds of propriety and law.

Despite those realities, Buddy achieved great things for the capital city and should be remembered for the overwhelming good he accomplished. He was unique, and we are unlikely to experience a whirlwind like him ever again.

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  • Justanidiot

    When the king is more important than the country, the country will not prosper. When the manager is more important than his or her employees, then the company will fail. If a manager is doing his or her job properly, then the company should run smoothly. The manager will become like a forgotten person, which is what a manager should strive for. Too many managers believe that they must have all of the answers and control every situation.

    Wednesday, February 3, 2016 Report this