Warwick, RI – Mayor Scott Avedisian’s supporters cheered at his Airport Road campaign headquarters as voting tallies cinched his eighth full term at the end of Tuesday night’s primary with 65 percent of the vote.
“I am incredibly excited. I thank you for this overwhelming vote tonight,” said Avedisian, speaking to his volunteers, supporters and members of the city staff. “I look forward as we move to November and another wonderful victory.”
Avedisian took 3,108 votes, winning the majority of his fellow Warwick Republican voters over primary challenger Stacia Petri’s 1,627, the first such challenge the 14-year Mayor has faced in four years.
Avedisian will now face Democratic challenger Jack Kirby in the Nov. 4 election, an opponent the long-time mayor has defeated in the last three contests.
Avedisian said he was a little taken aback by a robo call he received this evening from Petri’s campaign complaining that he had people outside holding signs for him, and people inside taking down names. “I’m sorry, but I thought it was a campaign, and that’s what you do in a campaign. You have your people go out and advocate on your behalf,” Avedisian said.
The Mayor said that he felt, as Petri’s rhetoric became increasingly negative, “It’s important to show people that a moderate Republican can still win in this state. And we’ve had a great run, I congratulate her on her campaign and I look forward to November.”
As the calls from the Avedisian campaign’s runners at the polls returned increasingly encouraging numbers for their cause, an already confident Mark Russell, Master of Ceremonies for all the Mayor’s runs, made a prescient statement.
“I would say it doesn’t look like Scott goes on unemployment next year,” Russell said.
“You’ve got to give credit to Stacia. You’ve got to give credit to everybody that runs for office. It’s not an easy thing to do,” Russell said after the final numbers were recorded on the board by Avedisian Campaign Manager Chris Allen and Chairman of the Republican City Committee Michael Penta.
At the end of his victory speech, Avedisian said, “Tonight shows you that the old addage isn’t true, because nice guys can finish first.”
Author: Rob Borkowski
Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at [email protected] with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.
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