David Cicilline

David N. Cicilline (born 1961), an American Democratic politician, is the current Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island. He is the first openly gay mayor of a U.S. state capital.^[1]

Early life and career

Cicilline was born July 15, 1961 in Providence to a Jewish mother, Sabra, and Italian American father, John F. "Jack" Cicilline. ^[2][3] His father is a prominent attorney in Providence who defended local Mafia figures in the 1970s and 1980s and was an aide to Mayor Joseph A. Doorley.^[2]

He was raised in Providence before moving to Narragansett. At high school, he served as president of his graduating class before heading to Brown University, where he established a branch of the College Democrats with his classmate, John F. Kennedy Jr. He took a degree in political science, graduating magna cum laude in 1983. He then went to Georgetown University Law Center where he earned a J.D., remaining in Washington, D.C. for a while to work for the Public Defender Service.

David Cicilline worked as a lawyer before being elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives in 1995, representing the 4th district on Providence's East Side. He served a total of four terms in the legislature, during which time he came out as a gay man.

As mayor

Cicilline in August 2004

Cicilline was elected in a landslide in November 2002 with 84% of the vote, following the downfall of controversial mayor Vincent Cianci and the aftermath of Operation Plunder Dome.^[4] He succeeded acting mayor John J. Lombardi, who served out Cianci's term and decided not to run in the following election.^[5]

Cicilline's administration has been focused on the residential neighborhoods of Providence as well as the "Renaissance" areas of downtown and Federal Hill that thrived under Cianci, and has continued the promotion of the city via the tax breaks given to artists and movie productions. As a former state legislator, he was able to deal with the animosity with state government that existed under Cianci.

Providence has experienced a significant drop in crime, attributed by some to community policing. As of 2007, Providence had its lowest crime rate in 30 years, contrary to national trends. The city has eliminated 14% of management positions, dropped to 17th in the state for per-capita tax and received an "A" bond rating from all three major bond-rating agencies.^[6]

In 2006, Cicilline won an easy reelection with 83% of the vote.^[6] He remains popular, with a 64% approval rating in September 2007, the highest of any elected official in the state.^[7][8]

He is 2008 President of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors.

In May, 2009, Cicilline gained national headlines after proposing a $150 per semester Head Tax on each of the 25,000 college students attending four universities in the city. The tax was an effort to close $6 to $8 million, of a reported $17 million dollar city budget shortfall. The associated press reported that if enacted, it would become the first-in-the-nation tax on students simply for being enrolled and attending college within the city limits.^[9]

Issues

Mayor Cicilline is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition,^[10] a bi-partisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition is co-chaired by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Mayor Cicilline has expressed concern for the Providence metropolitan area's carbon footprint and is seeking to implement a streetcar/light rail-type system for the city. The mayor also focuses efforts on fighting poverty, for example, by creating relationships between people and their banks. In response to the housing crisis, he passed a vacant and abandoned property penalty to provide economic disincentive for banks to hold properties for extended periods of time, and also proposed the city take out a bond to buy many foreclosed properties.^[11]

Cicilline is a strong proponent of after school programs as a means of improving opportunities for children^[12]. He has been recognized for his efforts to establish youth programming and to strengthen ties between schools, businesses, and the local government in order to expand access to after school. In response to this issue, city officials worked with Rhode Island’s Education Partnership to form PASA, the Providence After School Alliance^[12]. Cicille also serves on the board of the national nonprofit Afterschool Alliance, an organization that works to promote and to support after school programming for all children^[13].

During the Democratic primaries, Ciciline supported Hillary Clinton. In August, he attended the Democratic National Convention in Denver. While there he stated in an interview he supported Barack Obama, saying "There is a real sense of hope and optimism about what we're about to do and about a chance in leadership in this country."^[14]

Immigration controversy with Governor Carcieri

On June 8th, 2008, Marco Riz, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala who had been arrested twice the previous year while under a deportation order, was charged in the robbery and rape of a 30-year-old woman.^[15] A federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent criticized the Providence Police Department for not checking Riz's immigration status when they arrested him prior.^[16] Governor of Rhode Island, Donald Carcieri blamed Cicilline for the Department's failure. Prior, Carcieri had signed an executive order requiring all state officials to work with ICE on arrests or hirings of illegal immigrants. When Carcieri asked the same of local agents, Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman refused. Cicilline responded that it has been the policy of the Police Department to work with ICE and its database for all arrests, that the policy was followed when Riz was arrested, and that ICE failed to act.^[16]

On July 8th, 2008, governor of Rhode Island, Donald Carcieri claimed that Cicilline was not upholding his oath of office by failing to report illegal immigrants, suggesting the U.S. Attorney investigate the mayor.^[17] Mayor Cicilline responded by accusing Carcieri of "playing politics", eight days later writing an op-ed in the Providence Journal stating that the city always has and will continue to report all arrests to immigration authorities, and that the focus is therefore inappropriate.^[18] Carcieri is term-limited and is prevented from running for a third term in 2010.

Firefighters' union contract

Since 2003, Cicilline has been engaged in a dispute with the Providence Firefighters labor union (Local 799). In a July 2002 email Cicilline sent to the members of Local 799, he indicated that he hoped to resolve their pending contract dispute with the city within 30 days of taking office. In August, Cicilline said in an interview that promising the resolution of contract negotiations was impossible because of the unpredictability of the other negotiating partner.^[19] The city and the union have been in arbitration in every contract year since 2002, with Cicilline appealing one arbitration decision to the Rhode Island Supreme Court. The appeal was rejected.^[20]

In 2004, Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards canceled a fundraising appearance in Providence in support of the Local 799. ^[21] In 2007, Hillary Clinton asked Cicilline, a Clinton supporter, not to attend a Clinton rally because of threats by the union to picket the appearance.^[22][23]

Both the Rhode Island AFL-CIO and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) have censured Cicilline for his role in the issue.^[24][25]

In 2009, due to the union's picket, the Obama administration canceled Joe Biden's appearance at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Providence in the interests of remaining neutral in the conflict.^[26]

Political future

Cicilline with John Ratzenberger at the 2008 Rhode Island International Film Festival

A vocal critic of current governor Donald Carcieri^[27], Mayor Cicilline was considering a run for governor in 2010, but announced in March 2009 that he would run for another term as mayor instead.^[28]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: David Cicilline

• Official profile on City of Providence website
• Campaign website
• CityMayors profile
• Broder, David S. (June 8, 2006). "A Reformer In Rhode Island". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/07/AR2006060702114.html. Retrieved on 2007-06-29. "Something remarkable is happening here. A city long renowned for the rackets and graft is being cleaned up by a reform-minded mayor." 
• "New Day" Campaign ad, accessed December 1, 2006