Hartke

CUMBERLAND — Town Council incumbents say the big accomplishment of the council in the past two years has been its ability to come to a consensus on issues ranging from major building projects to the school budget.

Many of their challengers, on the other hand, call them a “rubber stamp” council, quick to vote with the majority or Mayor Daniel J. McKee’s administration.

The Democratic primary for the District 3 Town Council seat is representative of these opposing views.

The race pits incumbent Kelley Nickson Morris, a Providence lawyer, who says her actions on the council have shown “responsible leadership.”

Newcomer James C. Hartke, a self-employed information technology consultant, pledges that he will “do what the people want him to do” rather than what the mayor wants.

The Democratic primary is set for Sept. 9. District 3 encompasses the midsection of town, an area bounded by Angell and Hines roads in the south, and Pound and Abbott Run Valley roads in the north.

Hartke, of 9 Cargill Rd., is running for his first public office because he thinks there needs to be “deeper critical thinking” and “differing opinions and dialogue” on the council.

“I find it odd there are so many 7-0 votes on the current Town Council. How can seven people be in that much agreement all of the time?” he said. “The current Town Council looks like a ‘rubber stamp’ governing body for Mayor McKee. That needs to change.”

Hartke said he is right for the job because he is “a neophyte” to politics.

“I want to do what people want done,” he said. “I want to restore representative government.”

But Morris counters that there is more dialogue among council members than their votes would show. What makes the current council work, she said, is that the members are willing to adjust in order to come to a consensus. And that, she said, has produced results.

“We’ve done a good job working together. Our theme this campaign has been compromise.”

Hartke said among the issues that he is most interested in is protecting open space and the rural character of certain parts of the town.

Morris pointed to her record on the council in protecting open space.

As chairwoman of the ordinance subcommittee, she reviewed the 300,000-square-foot expansion of CVS headquarters in Highland Office Park.

The subcommittee required the developers provide access to town-owned green space, as well as other restrictions to ensure the protection of surrounding neighborhoods and the town’s character.

With council approval, the CVS expansion will provide about $700,000 in additional tax revenue, she said.

Hartke said he also wants to cut town spending and return Cumberland to a high-performing school district. “High-performing schools are important in preserving real estate values and the tax base,” he said.

Hartke, 51, is a 1975 graduate of Anderson High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.

He holds a bachelor of arts from Bowling Green State University. He also holds a master’s degree in science from Bowling Green State and a master’s degree in business administration from the Keller Graduate School of Management in Atlanta, Ga.

Hartke was a Cumberland Youth Baseball coach and a pack leader for Cub Scouts Pack 1, Diamond Hill. He and his wife, Mary, have an 11-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter.

Morris, of 60 Country Hill Rd., is seeking her second term in office. She defeated Edmond McGrath in the 2006 Democratic primary and had no challenger in the general election.

Morris said much of the past term for her was spent working on a revised town zoning ordinance. The ordinance is expected to be presented to the council for final approval in the coming months, she said.

Morris said she coordinated several neighborhood meetings on building-development applications proposed in District 3. In an effort to recruit qualified individuals, she initiated the requirement that the town advertise open positions on its appointed boards and commissions.

Morris said in the past two years the council has opened government to the general public.

She cites workshops the council held with the school administration in order to “better understand our children’s education budget.” She also points to the council’s funding of upgrades to the town Web site that allow Internet uses to view council meetings live online.

To which Hartke has criticized in his press releases: “That is all she can blow her horn about?”

Morris, 41, is a lawyer for the firm Moses and Afonso, in Providence. Her practice concentrates on real estate development, land use, and administrative law.

She served on the town Zoning Board of Appeals from 2003 to 2006, and from 2004 to 2006, she chaired the board. She also currently is vice chairwoman of the Board of Licensing.

Morris is a 1984 graduate of Cumberland High, a 1992 graduate of Rhode Island College, and a 1997 Suffolk University School of Law graduate.

She was an officer in the St. Thomas More Society and a board member of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program in Woonsocket. She and her husband, Phil, have a 2-year-old daughter.

pmarcelo@projo.com