3.29.2001 00:04
Cianci shares the secrets of Providence's
renaissance
•
The discussion in Washington is a preview of next week's White
House meeting between the president and the nation's mayors.
Listen
to Mayor Cianci's appearance on NPR's "Talk of the Nation" March 28,
2001
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BY JOHN E. MULLIGAN
Journal Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON
—
Providence Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr. said yesterday that his greatest accomplishment
is not of the bricks-and-mortar variety. "It's building the self-esteem of the
people" of his city, he said.
"We've gone from blight to bright," Cianci said at a forum on urban affairs,
speaking of a national trend as well as his resurgent hometown. Cianci joined
the mayors of Laredo, Texas, and Akron, Ohio, in a talk about census figures
that show a reversal of the decades-old exodus from American cities.
The gathering was meant to preview next week's annual White House meeting between
the president and the nation's mayors. The mayors plan to draw President Bush's
attention, Cianci said, by highlighting their partnerships with corporate executives,
instead of leading delegations of the urban poor. Cianci plans to moderate a
discussion on urban investments during the mayors' two-day convention here.
Cianci came to Washington with his trademark tartness intact, finding at least
two opportunities to contrast Mr. Bush unfavorably with former President Bill
Clinton. "There's a vacuum today," he said. "Clinton was very good to us."
Cianci was also in relaxed good humor during the panel discussion at the headquarters
of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
"Providence used to be a sign as you went to Boston, a sign you didn't take,"
said the director of the conference, J. Thomas Cochran, kicking off the presentation
on urban renaissance.
A key factor in the resurgence of cities, said Cianci, is a shift in how mayors
have viewed — and played — their role. When he served his first
term, in the 1970s, "mayors were considered to be and in many cases acted as
if they were social workers," Cianci said.
Mayors still see the public welfare, including care of the poor, as a top priority,
but have taken on a new role, he said: "We've become risk-takers and entrepreneurs."
Cianci cited the big-scale example of the city's role in landing the retail
giants Nordstrom and Filene's for the Providence Place mall. On a smaller scale,
he said that the city has helped to get financing for more than 100 restaurants
— a strong selling point for Providence in the "destination business,"
Cianci said.
"The last person a banker wants to see coming is a restaurateur," said Cianci,
referring to the riskiness of the business. "We fill that gap."
