Warwick Ward 3 City Council Race Q&A: Cascella

“I urge the City Council to schedule a special meeting in order to lay out details of the new 5 year spending plan,” Cascella wrote on his Facebook page. “This meeting should be held soon and allow for public questions and comments that will receive proper consideration and immediate responses from members of the Administration and Council,” he said. “A 5-year plan is a step in the right direction for Warwick, but it must be a plan that is transparent, in that, the public knows what it entails and that it can be relied upon to be followed setting a strict path toward better governance in Warwick.”

He said Ward 3 residents will face a great deal of issues in the neighborhoods surrounding the Airport, City yard and many industrial and mixed use areas, which he intends to champion as Ward 3 Councilman.

Warwickpost.com invited all Warwick City Council candidates to answer the same seven questions, giving them 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 Cascella’s answers:

 WARWICK Ward 3 CITY COUNCIL Q&A : 1) The recent sexual harassment lawsuit against the city alleges disregard for the city’s sexual harassment policy among staff and managers. Warwick Post reporting on the city’s sexual harassment policy shows it does not provide for verification of receipt of the policy or routine reminders for city personnel. However, the people involved in the suit had been sent the policy and/or attended training to combat sexual harassment six months prior to the start of events alleged in the lawsuit:  https://warwickpost.com/supervisors-in-suit-trained-on-sexual-harassment-months-before/

WARWICK Ward 3 CITY COUNCIL Q&A –  1a) Should the policy require documentation of receipt and understanding, and/or reminders?

CASCELLA: The policy should be obvious and documented as having been made clear to all employees and administrators of the City of Warwick.

WARWICK Ward 3 CITY COUNCIL Q&A – 1b) Warwick Post received information on the policy and its distribution to managers –  public information – after a public records request following unanswered requests to the mayor’s office, weeks later. Mayor Picozzi has declined comment on the issue, citing legal concerns. Does Warwick’s mayor have a responsibility to comment to the public generally about the sexual harassment policy, and the communication of it to staff? How would you handle such situations?

WARWICK Ward 3 CITY COUNCIL Q&A – 1c) Please share any other thoughts you have on this.

WARWICK Ward 3 CITY COUNCIL Q&A – 2) What is the most important thing you intend to do to aid small businesses in the city?

CASCELLA: Manage our City’s debt and get control of spending.  The culture of going to the residents and businesses to raise money through taxation in support of out of control spending is the greatest obstacle to encouraging new business investment.

WARWICK Ward 3 CITY COUNCIL Q&A – 3) In 2022, the RIAG’s office ruled the original digital records detailing WFD sick time taken by firefighters between 2013 and 2018 that cost the city up to $368,000, produced for the city by Marcum, belonged to Marcum and not the public, and therefore were not subject to the RI Access to Public Records Act, leaving the public to enter the information manually from the printed report for digital analysis:https://warwickpost.com/city-doesnt-have-to-produce-fire-sick-time-file-says-ag/

WARWICK Ward 3 CITY COUNCIL Q&A –  3b) What is your opinion of how this information was released to the public?

CASCELLA: If the City commissions an analysis then the findings belong to the people and should be available to them upon request.

WARWICK Ward 3 CITY COUNCIL Q&A – 3c) Please share any other thoughts you have on this topic.

CASCELLA: Cascella did not elaborate on this topic.

WARWICK Ward 3 CITY COUNCIL Q&A – 4) Warwick School Committee Chairman Shaun Galligan reports the new high schools project will outstrip the $350M bond. 

WARWICK Ward 3 CITY COUNCIL Q&A – 4a) Would you support a second bond to make up the difference? Why or Why Not?

CASCELLA: New schools for Warwick are important and the plan to construct 2 is well underway.  The School Committee has been very firm on the “not a penny more” approach.  The news that we may need more funds is upsetting.  There is hope that the fluidity of the process may result in an ebb in the cost that will bring the need for more funds into a more manageable range within our contingency funds.  Going back to the taxpayer may be the only option.  If there were more focus on what we can do with our current costs to operate this city in the way of savings, economy and efficiency then maybe we can reach for more bonded funds and still be able to manage the cost without going to the taxpayer by squeezing the money to service the bonded indebtedness with current revenue.  Essentially, paying for the increase in funding with today’s money instead of tomorrow’s increased taxation.

WARWICK Ward 3 CITY COUNCIL Q&A – 4b) Please share any other thoughts you have on this topic.

CASCELLA: Cascella did not elaborate on this topic.

WARWICK Ward 3 CITY COUNCIL Q&A – 5) ACLU of Rhode Island has filed a free speech suit against the Warwick City Council  in federal court for stifling the free speech rights of Rob Cote, barred from speaking at a July 17 Council meeting about allegations of ethical misconduct aimed at Councilwoman Donna Travis.

WARWICK Ward 3 CITY COUNCIL Q&A – 5a) Are you prepared to honor the public’s right to speak at Council meetings, even if the speech criticizes you personally, or someone you know?

CASCELLA: Yes.  Free speech is essential.  I do not care for vulgarity or hate speech.

WARWICK Ward 3 CITY COUNCIL Q&A – 5b) Why do you think Mr. Cote’s speech was so easily squelched? What would you propose to avoid a repeat of this behavior from the Council?

CASCELLA: Cascella did not provide an answer to this question.

WARWICK Ward 3 CITY COUNCIL Q&A –  5c) Please share any other thoughts you have on this topic.

CASCELLA: Cascella did not elaborate on this topic.

WARWICK Ward 3 CITY COUNCIL Q&A – 6) In 2023, members of the public unsuccessfully proposed reforms to the public speaking segment rules, including preventing Council members’ filibustering from counting against the public speaker’s time, and allowing responses from the Council.

6a) Will you support those changes when the rules are scheduled to be reconsidered in 2025? Why?

CASCELLA:  Yes.  I suppirt any changes in those rules that allow more open dialogue in the council chambers. I do not see the value of stunted speech in an empty room. I will support changes.

WARWICK Ward 3 CITY COUNCIL Q&A –  6b) What other changes would you like to see?

CASCELLA:  I hope to make changes to the rules that promote a more interactive experience for the citizens that choose to attend the Council meetings.

WARWICK Ward 3 CITY COUNCIL Q&A –  6c) Please share any other thoughts you have on this topic.

CASCELLA: We need to  increase public engagement with the Council.  The current rules have driven the attendance at Council meetings away.  Discussing the business of the City in an empty room is not a good look and needs to change.