[CREDIT: Capaldi for Dist. 2] Alisa Capaldi, appointed in March, is running in the Coventry Dist. 2 Council race.COVENTRY, RI — Incumbent Town Councilor Alisa Capaldi, appointed unanimously in March to fill the Dist. 2 seat after Jennifer Ludwig’s resignation, is running for her first elected term in the Coventry Dist. 2 Council race.
According to Capaldi’s campaign Facebook page, she was born and raised in Coventry and graduated from Coventry High School before earning a BS in Communications from Emerson College. She’s currently working as Employee and Executive Communications Manager for FM Global as a contractor, starting at about the same time she was appointed to the Council, according to her LinkedIn page. She has worked as a corporate communications professional since 2007 for companies including STARZ Entertainment, AAA Southern New England, the MBTA, and National Grid.
Capaldi states in her campaign materials that she is working on the town’s economic revitalization through support of projects like the Arnold Road solar array project, which generates $120K annually for 20 years, and the Center of New England updates to add millions in annual tax revenue. She also supports a commission to create a municipal fire department.
Coventry Dist. 2 Council Race Q&A rules
Warwickpost.com invited all Coventry Town Council candidates to answer the same six questions, giving them all four days to respond. Candidates were urged to answer the questions directly, and invited to elaborate on each topic after answering the initial question. The answers have been edited for style and spelling, to ensure responses remain on-topic, and to avoid introducing misinformation into the debate.
All the candidates’ answers to the questionnaire have been posted within the same 10-minute window, with a digital dice roll assigning the order each set of answers run on the site, and thus, their order in the daily newsletter.
Here are Warwick Post’s questions, and Capaldi’s answers:
Coventry Dist. 2 Council race Q&A
Coventry Dist. 2 Council race Q&A – 1) The state auditor’s assessment of the Coventry Schools to-date $5M deficit lays partial blame on turnover of poor performing prior executive leadership, and prior finance directors on the school and town side, coinciding with ill-timed Financial Town Meeting votes for level funding. The result was inadequate budgets that didn’t catch deficits early.
Coventry Dist. 2 Council race Q&A – 1A) What is your position on level-funded budgets?
Council member Alisa Capaldi declined to answer this questionnaire when reached by phone.
Coventry Dist. 2 Council race Q&A – 1B) How can the Council be more proactive with financial leadership?
Council member Alisa Capaldi declined to answer this questionnaire when reached by phone.
Coventry Dist. 2 Council race Q&A – 1C) Please share any other thoughts you have on this.
Council member Alisa Capaldi declined to answer this questionnaire when reached by phone.
Coventry Dist. 2 Council race Q&A – 2) How can the town‘s fire districts be better managed?
Council member Alisa Capaldi declined to answer this questionnaire when reached by phone.
Coventry Dist. 2 Council race Q&A – 3) What is the most important thing you will do to aid small businesses in town?
Council member Alisa Capaldi declined to answer this questionnaire when reached by phone.
Coventry Dist. 2 Council race Q&A – 4) According to the RI Auditor General’s report on the town‘s sewer program, “Only a small portion (approximately 3%) of the Town’s homeowners and businesses are connected to the System,” and, “A longer-term view needs to be part of the overall assessment of the program as there will be a future need in Coventry to expand the sewer program for either health and safety, water contamination, or economic development reasons.”
Council member Alisa Capaldi declined to answer this questionnaire when reached by phone.
Coventry Dist. 2 Council race Q&A – 4a) Given the town-wide benefits to building sewers, is supporting the program in part with the General Fund, as suggested in the report, a good idea? What would you suggest?
Council member Alisa Capaldi declined to answer this questionnaire when reached by phone.
Coventry Dist. 2 Council race Q&A – 4b) Please share any other thoughts you have on this.
Council member Alisa Capaldi declined to answer this questionnaire when reached by phone.
Coventry Dist. 2 Council race Q&A – 5) Council President Hillary Lima suggests new Council members proactively study the town‘s finances and budget process with the town‘s finance director. What do you think of that suggestion?
Council member Alisa Capaldi declined to answer this questionnaire when reached by phone.
Coventry Dist. 2 Council race Q&A – 6) State law splits governance of Schools and Municipal finance, and there tends to be a split in town members’ attention to and attendance of the respective meetings.
Council member Alisa Capaldi declined to answer this questionnaire when reached by phone.
Coventry Dist. 2 Council race Q&A – 6a) Should these groups interact more?
Council member Alisa Capaldi declined to answer this questionnaire when reached by phone.
Coventry Dist. 2 Council race Q&A – 6b) If so, how would you approach that?
Council member Alisa Capaldi declined to answer this questionnaire when reached by phone.
Coventry Dist. 2 Council race Q&A – 6c) Please share any other thoughts you have on this.
Council member Alisa Capaldi declined to answer this questionnaire when reached by phone.
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.
![[CREDIT: Capaldi for Dist. 2] Alisa Capaldi, appointed in March, is running in the Coventry Dist. 2 race.](https://warwickpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Alisa-Capaldi-Coventry-Dist.-2-race.jpg)
![[CREDIT: Capaldi for Dist. 2] Alisa Capaldi, appointed in March, is running in the Coventry Dist. 2 Council race.](https://warwickpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Alisa-Capaldi-Coventry-Dist.-2-race-336x336.jpg)
