DaSILVA

ROSE

RUSSO

EAST PROVIDENCE –– There has never been a Democratic primary in House District 63. Henry C. Rose, a state representative since 1993, hasn’t had to face a member of his own party as an opponent since the district was created in the statewide redistricting of 2002.

This year, things are different. Rose, 67, announced three months ago that he wouldn’t run. Within weeks, three candidates –– Roberto DaSilva, George Russo, and Rose’s nephew Thomas A. Rose Jr. — had tossed their hats into the ring.

The candidates all live in Kent Heights, the tidy suburban area southeast of Route 6 and Pawtucket Avenue. They have many of the same views on the issues: taxes are too high, the economy is on the rocks, the governor and General Assembly have got to stop trying to balance the budget on the backs of the little guy.

But, as candidates, DaSilva, Russo and Rose, couldn’t be more different, and that difference is reflected in their campaigns.

Russo, a retired engineering draftsman for the former Providence Gas Co., is running a low-key campaign funded with just $120 in contributions and staffed by his wife, the former Bernadette Souza, and himself.

Nevertheless, he has managed to visit every Democratic primary voter and half the unaffiliated primary voters in the district, a sprawling area mostly in East Providence that, besides Kent Heights, includes part of Rumford and Riverside and a few streets in Pawtucket near Slater Memorial Park.

The state is in a recession, and voters are complaining about the high price of gasoline and home heating oil, Russo said. In the long run, he said, he favors state tax credits and tax breaks to foster the development of alternative energy sources. In the short run, however, the General Assembly may not be able to cure the problems that have arisen from the state’s economic woes.

But state legislators are going to have to grapple with the consequences of rising unemployment, widespread foreclosures and rising fuel costs during the next legislative session, Russo said.

“I think they’re going to have to deal with the results of all this,” he said. “I think the state is going to end up lending a hand.”

Russo, 61, was born in the Bronx and grew up in Orange, N.J. He settled in Rhode Island after serving in the Navy and meeting his wife, a lifelong Kent Heights resident, while stationed in Davisville, in 1967.

DaSilva, a Pawtucket police lieutenant, is running a well-financed campaign with a full-fledged organization. He won the endorsement of the Democratic House District 63 Committee, has received $9,727 in contributions, has his headquarters in the Santa Maria Club on Broadway and has “people who are coming down every night to help get the vote out.”

“I’m running to make a difference,” DaSilva said. “I think the state’s going in the wrong direction. You see people losing their homes, losing their jobs. The schools are underfunded. Instead of looking to get new ways of raising revenue, they’re trying to balance the budget on the shoulders of the middle class, the working class, and the most vulnerable citizens.”

Like Russo, DaSilva supports transforming Quonset Point into a containerized cargo port, touting its potential for creating jobs and generating revenues. Like Thomas Rose, DaSilva would change the way the state’s public schools are funded. Rose said he would look into getting more money from the State Lottery Commission. DaSilva would change the funding formula to shift the burden from the local communities, which rely heavily on property taxes, to the state.

DaSilva, 39, grew up in Providence, the son of Portuguese immigrants. His father, Louis, worked for Leviton Manufacturing. His mother, Carmelia, worked for Davol Rubber. An East Providence resident for 12 years, DaSilva is married to the former Karina Pena-Jose, who teaches Spanish at Barrington High School. They have two children, Donovan, 7, and Dorian, 2.

Thomas Rose, a local businessman, is a member of the family that owns Rose Furniture on Warren Avenue. His grandfather and grandmother, who founded the business 70 years ago, had the motto, “Honesty, integrity and commitment.” Rose said he has made that motto the slogan of his campaign.

Rose is financing his campaign with a $1,458 personal loan, according to campaign finance statements. He is making the money go a long way, he said, by shopping for bargains. For example, Rose said, he is having his campaign signs made by a company in Texas that charges just $2.83 per sign, compared with $4.50 per sign locally. He has designed a Web site and posted it on the Internet through a company that charges just $11.50 for the whole deal.

This is Rose’s first run for public office. “I’ve always had an interest in politics, watching my uncle Henry being up there at the State House 16 years. I wanted to follow in his footsteps,” he said.

Rose, 36, manages a 21-unit apartment complex owned by his father, Thomas A. Rose Sr. and is involved in the furniture business with his family. He has earned an associate’s degree in business administration from the Community College of Rhode Island. He and his fiancée, Diane Medeiros, have a son, Tyler, who is 19 months old.

Years ago, when the Rhode Island Lottery was established, the money was supposed to be earmarked for education, Rose said. If he is elected, he would work diligently to find out where the money from the Lot is going, he said, “because it didn’t go to the schools.”

jcastell@projo.com