CRANSTON -- The Teamsters are in and baby Jesus is out.
Two pink flamingos -- wearing little Santa hats -- also walked off, and yesterday one resident tried to exhibit an angel wearing the face of Mayor Stephen P. Laffey.
The holiday display in front of Cranston City Hall continues to be a flurry of activity.
Sometime Thursday night or early yesterday morning, the Nativity-scene Jesus was stolen, according to Laffey's office. Two pink flamingos, part of a set of 15 recently added to the display, have also disappeared, one at a time. The police are investigating.
Yesterday also brought the addition of a sign from the local Teamsters unit carrying their "Season's Greetings."
Last week, Laffey invited residents to put up "appropriate" holiday decorations on the front lawn of City Hall. Each decoration must be approved by Laffey or his designee, must be "suitable for the holiday occasion" and not "shock the consciousness of the community."
Besides the manger and flamingos, the display includes a menorah, several Santas, a snowman and an angel.
The Republican mayor's move has drawn fire from the Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, which says the display is unconstitutional and that "public officials simply should not be in the business of promoting religious symbols." The ACLU says it will challenge Laffey in court.
Late yesterday afternoon, local gadfly and frequent Laffey critic Louis G. Rainone brought a 3 1/2-foot wooden angel, with a picture of Laffey taped to the head, to City Hall.
Rainone, who describes himself as a practicing Catholic, says the mayor is "rewriting the Constitution" and should not be the one deciding what is or is not offensive. Rainone says there should be no holiday display on city property and that Laffey's move forces the city to allow offensive displays.
"What's going to stop the Ku Klux Klan from coming here and burning a cross?" Rainone said yesterday.
Rainone has been vocal in his dislike for Laffey. In recent months, he has distributed fliers at City Council meetings calling Laffey a "phony" and "a lightweight mayor." He has criticized Laffey's growing legal spending and says the mayor seems to "favor lawsuit after lawsuit."
His display, called "The Guardian Angel of Cranston," goes beyond tongue-in-cheek. It asks residents to help the mayor raise money so the city's lawyers can dine out in fancy restaurants, make payments on luxury cars and take their families on tropical vacations.
Laffey could not be reached yesterday for comment on Rainone's lampoon.
Every person adding to the display must, under Laffey's rules, sign a waiver releasing the city from liability.
Rainone reviewed the release in the mayor's office yesterday but declined to sign it, saying his lawyer told him not to sign anything until it is reviewed.
So, instead of leaving the angel on the front lawn, Rainone briefly paced with it on the sidewalk out front. He says he probably won't sign the release, but plans to return this weekend and march with the decoration.
"This is the angel of mercy," Rainone said. "He's going to save the city a lot of money, but he's going to give it all to the lawyers."
