About Providence

Poll finds Providence still in Cianci's corner — Renaissance is the reason
Providence residents overwhelmingly support Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr., despite a continuing FBI probe into corruption in City Hall

By D. MORGAN McVICAR
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE —

Despite the shroud of the federal investigation into corruption lingering over City Hall, Mayor Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci Jr. remains one of the most popular politicians in Rhode Island.

Sixty percent of 412 registered voters polled recently said Cianci is doing an excellent or good job. Nearly three-quarters of Providence residents polled, 71 percent, gave the mayor two thumbs up, up from 67 percent last June. And a majority of Rhode Islanders polled — 54 percent — said they believe Providence is headed in the right direction.

The poll by Brown University for The Providence Journal was conducted on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22, just days after the media reported that a former city tax official had told the FBI he had met with Cianci to arrange three bribes for City Hall favors.

So far, five people have been convicted in connection with corruption in City Hall, and Cianci's top aide, Frank E. Corrente, is under indictment on charges of taking bribes.

So how to explain Cianci's sustained popularity and the sentiment of many that Providence is headed in the right direction? The simple answer: it's the renaissance, stupid. But the complex textures of a city and a multifaceted mayor are also something that a poll, with one-dimensional questions and answers, cannot fully reveal.

Cianci's statewide rating, while high, dropped precipitously from last year, when it was 75 percent. That suggests that Plunder Dome is resonating with some, says Darrell West, director of Brown's Taubman Center for Public Policy, which conducted the poll. And, noting that many older Rhode Islanders think Providence has "gotten off on the wrong track," West said that the elderly are more inclined to worry about crime and less to revel in fine dining, skating, mall shopping, or WaterFire.

John G. Hovan, 84, has lived in Providence's Washington Park neighborhood for 45 years. The city's revival sure looks nice, Hovan says, but ....

"The fact still remains," says Hovan, "you can't pick up the paper and not see another young person has shot another young person. [The city has had 21 homicides this year, including the deaths of 3 teenagers.] And every week, there's some prominent individual on television appealing for funds for the hungry, children and the homeless."

As for Cianci, Hovan says, "It's clear to me that if the mayor is doing a good job, we would not have the extent of corruption in high places in city government. The buck stops at the top."

CIANCI READILY ACKNOWLEDGES that scandal has tarnished his and the city's image. But, he says of his approval rating, 60 percent is 60 percent.

"Has Plunder Dome hurt me? You don't have to be a genius to figure that out," Cianci says. "But there are no complaints about taxes, governance, programs, street sweeping. We're on the right track educationally, with test scores improving.

"I'm very pleased with the approval rating of 71 percent in Providence. That's where people observe me. I remember when it was 29, 30 percent, in the '80s. I'll take 71 percent any day."

As much as the city has accomplished the past decade, Cianci says there is more ahead. The project he is most bullish on is the Sundance Cinemas, an $11-million project slated to be built at Weybosset and Union Streets, and one that he and civic leaders consider pivotal to reviving the downtown core.

Equally vital, he says, is establishing more residential units and the infrastructure needed to support their inhabitants.

The Rhode Island Foundation recently proposed a $9-million fund to promote residential development. But City Hall is critical to any and all municipal projects, and some say Plunder Dome is having an effect.

"There's no question it's interfering with the operation of government," says Oskar Eustis, artistic director of Trinity Repertory Company. "It's much harder to get things done than it used to be. You can feel it.

"One feels it, for instance, in the inability to get a master plan around parking downtown done," Eustis says. "Right now, [Cianci's] effectiveness is hampered by all this. This phase has got to finish."

Still, Eustis says he is an ardent fan of Cianci. Since Eustis arrived in 1994, Trinity has retired its debt and enjoyed budget surpluses each of the past five years. The theater's budget has more than doubled since 1996 and plans are under way to expand to a third theater on Empire Street within two years.

"I've worked in a number of different cities," Eustis says. "I have never seen a mayor put more energy into trying to create a positive environment for culture in his city. He understands the importance of culture and the arts, and he's invested in it."

As for Plunder Dome and the mayor, Eustis says, "I spent too much time growing up in the '60s to believe that because the FBI targets somebody, that means they're guilty."

A FEW BLOCKS SOUTH of Trinity, another theater has been gobbling the fruit of Providence's revival. Five years ago, the Providence Performing Arts Center had about 100 nights of events a year and about 150,000 patrons. Last fiscal year, there were more than 200 nights with events and more than 370,000 paying customers.

PPAC executive director J.L. "Lynn" Singleton says the city has done wonders with the "big things": moving rivers, expanding PPAC's stage, the mall. Now, he says, "we have to roll up our sleeves and get into details: street lighting, people feeling safe, police protection."

Cianci, Singleton says, remains the one to lead the way.

"The mayor has been critical to not only the development and growth of this building, but to the entire district down here," Singleton says. "He understands the importance of organizations like us and AS220 and Trinity. When you recruit executives, those are the things people talk about, because they're what gives a city its soul."

Singleton refers to the FBI's investigation as "those intramurals," and says that the mayor has been unaffected by them.

A playbill's throw away from PPAC is the social-service agency, Travelers Aid Society of Rhode Island. Executive Director Marion F. Avarista deals daily with growing numbers of people who are not in basking in the glow of renaissance.

"If you're talking about what we're trying to sell people outside of Rhode Island, we're doing a fabulous job," Avarista says of the city. "But if you're talking about the poorest of the poor in Providence, it's terrible.

"Families with children are sleeping on the floor in Travelers Aid because there's such a housing crisis," Avarista says. "Shelters are being maxed to capacity. The rents have gone too high. Families earning a little bit above minimum wage can't afford to live in Providence."

Avarista says Cianci has long been a strong supporter of her agency and other social service organizations in the city, and she admires his role in transforming downtown. But unlike those who say he is innocent until proven guilty regarding Plunder Dome, she says, "The buck stops with him, and so he has to assume responsibility for what's going on. Because the bottom line is you can't say, 'I didn't do anything.' You are the one who put those people there."
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