Reed, Whitehouse, Langevin endorse Fogarty

CRANSTON — Democratic mayoral candidate Cynthia M. Fogarty has been endorsed by U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressman James R. Langevin.

Reed, in a news release issued yesterday by Fogarty’s campaign, said: “Cindy has a strong reputation for working to create a better future for Cranston. She has been vocal on issues of finance, education and health care, and knows how to listen and respond to the needs of the community.”

Whitehouse called Fogarty “a smart, tough, experienced leader who will put local government to work for Cranston families. I’m confident that she will work hard to make one of Rhode Island’s largest cities a great place to live, work, and raise a family.”

Langevin, whose 2nd Representative District includes Cranston, said, “Cindy has a great track record as an advocate for the taxpayers and residents of the city of Cranston. As a member of the City Council, Cindy demonstrated strong skills as a communicator and a fierce determination to implement real change.”

Clough, Bourget: What’s the rush on charter changes?

WEST WARWICK — Two Republican candidates for the Town Council have criticized the Democrat-controlled council for putting proposed Town Charter amendments on the November ballot rather than empaneling a traditional charter review commission to take a more measured approach.

Longdon D. Clough, who is running for the Ward 4 seat, said three months is not enough time for the voters to study the questions that the council on Tuesday decided to put on the ballot.

“When you change one provision of the charter, it has consequences for the other elements,” he said. “If the council has worked so hard on this for so long and do not have it all worked out, how can they expect the average citizen to do so in such a short period of time?”

Ward 5 candidate Mark Bourget agreed. “There is nothing here so pressing that is has to be done this election,” Bourget told the council at Tuesday’s hearing. “We can run another year without making any changes. … I think this is just too important to rush through in one meeting.”

Yesterday was the deadline for local referendum questions to be submitted to the secretary of state’s office.