Cianci ad hits airwaves

By: Melissa Randall
mrandall@abc6.com

Vincent “Buddy” Cianci is waiting no time. The former Providence Mayor officially kicked off his campaign last night. A new television ad is already hitting the air waves. Those commercials started airing just one hour after the primary polls closed Tuesday night.

Voters can expect to see a lot more of Cianci now that the Independent candidate for Providence Mayor knows who we will go up against in the General Election this November. Jorge Elorza won the Democratic nomination.

“I’m pleased with the fact that now I can really let the clutch out and start campaigning,” said Cianci.

In the add Cianci compares the city today to when he was mayor in 2002.

“When I left office there was a $7 million surplus in Providence,” he narrates.

“People running today who have had to deal with the years since Cianci’s last administration have argued and will continue to argue that the reason the city has the structural deficit… is because the Cianci years were so generous with pensions,” said Tony Affigne, Prof. of Political Science at Providence College.

Cianci is the longest standing Mayor in the city of Providence. Political analysts say his troubled past, including a conviction of corruption in Operation Plunderdome coupled with a new demographic of voters will be obstacles.

“Cianci is a formidable opponent. He’s a great speaker. He knows the city, but I actually think Cianci is coming from behind. He has a lot of headwinds and he’s going to have to make up a lot of ground convincing voters he is in fact a changed man,” said Affigne.

The general election will be a 3 way race between Cianci, Elorza and the Republican candidate Dr. Dan Harrop.

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