Solomon Warwick Mayoral Race Q&A

WARWICK, RI  — Incumbent Mayor Joseph J. Solomon, a prominent figure in Warwick Politics during his 20 years on the City Council and the last two in the executive office, has not yet spoken in detail about recent high-profile Warwick governing decisions, so Warwick Post gave him and challenger Frank Picozzi the opportunity to weigh in on them with a Warwick Mayoral Race Q&A.

Warwick Post.com emailed the same questions to each candidate last week and gave them until Monday, Oct. 19, to respond. Each was asked to acknowledge receipt of the emailed questions, and their intent to answer them.

As of 5 p.m. on Oct. 19, the Post had not received any reply from Solomon. He also failed to respond to a reminder email sent at 3 p.m. Oct. 19. Solomon had still not responded to the questions, the initial email, or the reminder about the deadline, as of 1 a.m. Oct. 20.

Here are the questions posed to Solomon:

1) During the May 27 budget hearing, Mayor Solomon failed to answer or to pledge to answer several questions posed by citizens and Council members, as reported in the Warwick Post article: Warwick Budget Hearing Questions Unanswered.

Do you recognize your responsibility to answer questions about the annual City budget you draft?

SOLOMON:  Mayor Solomon failed to provide an answer by the requested deadline of Monday, Oct. 19

2) Millions of dollars have been budgeted the last few years for repairing Warwick’s roads, yet only a fraction of that amount is ever used. For instance, in the article, Schools’ Budget Ask Would Have Added $104 to Median Tax Bill, DPW Director Mat Solitro reported there was $3.1M unspent from the $5M in the previous year’s paving budget. This year, the paving budget was reduced to $500K, but a $10M bond has been secured for paving.

SOLOMON: Mayor Solomon failed to provide an answer by the requested deadline of Monday, Oct. 19

How would you plan to use these funds as budgeted for this year so the citizens may see the results of the full $10 million in paving this coming season? What is the use of continually budgeting funds the city cannot use?

SOLOMON: Mayor Solomon failed to provide an answer by the requested deadline of Monday, Oct. 19

3) During a recent City Council meeting, Councilman Ed Ladouceur complained of his inability to get the City to properly repair Lipitt Park following a recent car crash that damaged it. The meeting ended with his successful resolution forcing the City to make the repairs.

Should citizens expect that their council representative must pursue such measures to secure City services? How will you ensure this doesn’t repeat itself?

SOLOMON: Mayor Solomon failed to provide an answer by the requested deadline of Monday, Oct. 19

4) Looking back at the 2019 Warwick Schools budget crisis, how would you have handled things differently?

SOLOMON: Mayor Solomon failed to provide an answer by the requested deadline of Monday, Oct. 19

5) Was the surprise Dec. 20 special meeting to ratify the Firefighter’s Contract called by the Warwick City Council, catching one Council member on a flight, and ultimately ruled illegal, a wise decision?

SOLOMON: Mayor Solomon failed to provide an answer by the requested deadline of Monday, Oct. 19

6) Considering Warwick Firefighters’ union’s past history with contractual agreements, was it wise to advocate for passing the document with uncorrected errors?

SOLOMON: Mayor Solomon failed to provide an answer by the requested deadline of Monday, Oct. 19