The race for mayor has rightfully drawn much of the public’s attention ahead of the Sept. 8 primary, but another important citywide contest will be on the ballot.

Democratic voters will choose three candidates from a field of four to represent the party on the November general election ballot for citywide seats on the City Council.

The hopefuls include Paul Archetto, a former Ward 3 councilman and current School Committee member; Jessica Marino, a civil litigation defense attorney; Larry Warner, a former Providence firefighter who currently serves as director of grants and strategic initiatives for the United Way of Rhode Island; and Dylan Zelazo, who works as director of administration for the city of Pawtucket.

Earlier this year, the Cranston Democratic City Committee endorsed Archetto, Warner and Zelazo for the three citywide seats.

The winners of the Democratic primary will take on a Republican slate that includes Robert Ferri, Nicole Renzulli and Don Roach.

The citywide council race will play a significant role in determining which party controls the body in the new term. Currently, Republicans hold a 5-4 edge on the nine-member council.

Four incumbents are set to return without opposition – Ward 1’s Lammis Vargas, Ward 3’s John Donegan, Ward 4’s Ed Brady and Ward 5’s Chris Paplauskas – for a starting point partisan split of 2-2. But the other five seats are contested, and all three citywide seats are open as their current occupants run for mayor.

The following profiles of Marino, Warner and Zelazo are based on interviews of the candidates for the Herald’s Radio Beacon podcast, all of which can be found in full at anchor.fm/radio-beacon.

The Herald reached out to Archetto, but he declined to speak to the paper until after the primary.

Jessica Marino

Jessica Marino said her background as a daughter of Italian immigrants and her professional experience as an attorney have shaped her view of public service.

“I am not a career politician. I am a career advocate. Being a lawyer for as long as I have been, what I do every day is I represent people of every walk of life, every socioeconomic level, and I defend them in civil cases,” she said.

She added: “Being first-generation American, I think it’s important to kind of step up for the community. But I’m the type of person that I will do that when I know that I can give it 110 percent. And there have been some recent issues over the last couple of years that have resonated with our community, on both the citywide and statewide level.”

Marino, 45, works as a civil litigation defense attorney, practicing in District Court and Superior Court. She has practiced law for more than 20 years. She and her husband have lived in Cranston for 22 years and have two children.

Marino’s community involvement has included being an active member of school PTO/PTG groups and serving on hiring committees for school principals. She has also become an advocate on city issues, starting several years ago with concerns over the condition of a local street.

Her role in the push to amend the city’s solar ordinances to prevent the further spread of large-scale installations in Western Cranston took her involvement to a new level – attending city meetings “multiple times a month, making it a priority to attend.”

“We were instrumental together in changing the law for the better to protect residential neighborhoods from large-scale solar,” she said.

Rejecting the “misconception” that she and others involved in that push are opposed to solar power or motivated by “not in my backyard,” or NIMBY, concerns, she added: “That’s not it at all. It’s a very complex issue, and there’s a responsible renewable plan and development … and there’s an irresponsible method.”

Marino agrees with others that the Costco-anchored Cranston Crossing development is “way too much” for the current Mulligan’s Island property and surrounding area. She said that property is “clearly” suited for commercial development, but that it must be approached in a “responsible way.” More broadly, she said, the city’s approach to reviewing development proposals must be “very transparent” and include “citizens’ involvement and perspective.”

Marino said as a council member, she would work to make the city’s bidding process for goods and services “more a level playing field.” She voiced support for a recently proposed bid discount program that would provide incentives for businesses owned by women and people of color.

Regarding the fiscal crunch facing the city and its school system, Marino said: “It’s going to take a community effort. Yes, we need more funding. We have to have help on the federal level … We can’t do it alone.”

Regarding the city’s financial picture, she said: “I’ve lived in the city long enough to have seen the transformation. I remember the days where there was insufficient funding in the rainy day fund, the taxes were going up and going up, and as a family considered moving out of Cranston. And I’m very pleased to see that we’ve taken a turn for the better.”

She added: “If anyone running for office is going to say, ‘I’m going to assure you I’m not going to raise taxes,’ that’s disingenuous. I as a resident and a working family want to hold the line on taxes, and I hope that we’ll be able to do that, but we have to really look at the budget and see what the revenue stream is like … I’m hopeful that there’ll be a resurgence in the economy.”

Marino said she harbors concerns over the safety of students and staff during the reopening of public schools, but she spoke highly of Superintendent Jeannine Nota-Masse and the district’s leadership.

“I have extreme confidence in our leaders in that regard on the local level, with the superintendent,” she said. “She’s a mom herself. A lot of our principals are parents as well. I have great confidence that they are going to make the right decision.”

Marino said efforts to more effectively diversify the city’s workforce are “long overdue,” and she said connecting local students with municipal career opportunities should be an area of focus.

“I think that we should use that as a resource within our own schools … That may open some doors,” she said.

Since her Radio Beacon interview, Marino has endorsed Steve Stycos in the Democratic primary for mayor.

In a statement announcing the endorsement, she said: “There is no question that Steve has the proven experience specific to Cranston that is needed to lead a fiscally responsible, transparent, and accountable government that its residents deserve.”

Larry Warner

Larry Warner recalls one call from his time as a Providence firefighter, while he was a member of an engine company serving the Fox Point neighborhood.

A man out jogging with friends had gone into cardiac arrest and stopped breathing. The man’s friends began CPR before Warner and his colleagues arrived at the scene.

While en route to the hospital, Warner said, the responders were able to restore the man’s heartbeat. He said the collaborative effort leading to that positive outcome – being “part of a team that responded to the crisis in the moment” – represents the kind of approach he hopes to bring to the City Council.

“That team approach has been something that’s translated through my work,” he said.

After growing up in Brooklyn, New York, Warner, 44, came to Rhode Island as a student at Brown University. He and his wife, Dr. Tammy Vargas Warner, have three sons. They have lived in Cranston for 12 years.

After his graduation from Brown, Warner spent 15 years as a member of the Providence Fire Department. During that time, he pursued a master’s degree in public health at Brown, helping him develop a “unique set of experiences and skills.”

Warner left the fire service for a role as a grant officer with the Rhode Island Foundation, working on health-related initiatives across the state. Now, in his role at the United Way, he works on issues ranging from housing and education to workforce development and financial stability.

Warner said his professional experience has “really helped to shape my perspective about how society can benefit from policy work and from the right investments.”

He added: “I’ve gained an appreciation of the importance of state and local government in shaping the conditions that impact our lives.”

Warner addressed a range of issues during his Radio Beacon interview, including the fiscal challenges facing Cranston as a result of the pandemic. He said he generally views the mayor and current council as having responded well to the situation.

“That’s the nature of the work. You deal with the cards that are dealt to you, and you try to make the best decisions and then be innovative … But also prioritize making the right investments in the community and our young people. At the end of the day, if we don’t take care of our youth, then we don’t have a future,” he said.

Warner said he shares the concerns many have expressed over the reopening of schools, saying the process should not be “rushed” and should take into account the experiences of other states.

“Any decision has to be based in science and should take into consideration the needs of youth and parents and teachers … There’s not a one-size-fits-all solution,” he said.

Warner said he hopes to foster more discussion of ways in which Cranston can work with its neighboring communities to find efficiencies and improve services – “not thinking of Cranston as having a firewall around our borders, but having a relationship with our neighboring communities and being able to address some of the needs that are shared with our neighbors.”

He also spoke of an appetite for change in many corners of the community – and of a “tale of two cities” that has emerged during his discussions with many residents,

“There’s been a sense of, I don’t know if it rises to the level of frustration, but definitely concern, that the eastern side of the city has a different experience than the western side of the city,” he said.

He added: “[We] have to prioritize individuals and communities with the greatest need. And so if historically we have created a different experience because of how we’ve implemented policies or investments, then as we move forward we need to think about who has been left behind.”

Warner said in terms of economic development, Cranston should focus on being friendly to small businesses – and on finding ways to support businesses owned by women and people of color. Larger developers and projects, he said, should be dealt with on a “case-by-case basis.”

“I think for me, what’s important is being accessible, responsive and transparent to our residents,” he said.

Regarding the diversity of the city’s workforce, Warner said: “A lot of people would apply to become a public safety employee or a teacher if they saw themselves in that workforce … If we think about the relationships that we have across the city, across the state and across the country to let potential applicants know that yes, there are people of color in the fire service, yes, there are people of color in the police departments, yes, there are Black and Latino teachers, then it becomes something that people can picture themselves doing potentially.”

He added: “I’m not for lowering standards. I’m for setting the right standards and the right requirements and removing unnecessary barriers.”

Warner has not endorsed either of the major candidates for the Democratic mayoral nomination. Both Maria Bucci and Steve Stycos, he said, “have great intentions and skills and perspectives to bring to the role.”

Dylan Zelazo

Dylan Zelazo’s path toward public service began in high school.

A member of the student council at his school, he recalls the town manager in his Connecticut hometown asking if anyone wanted to accompany him to the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities.

“I was the little freshman in the back of the room with my hand up,” he said.

Zelazo sought guidance from the town manager on how to pursue a career in local government, which led him to earn a bachelor’s degree in political science from Providence College before earning a master’s at Indiana University. While at PC, he met his wife, a Rhode Islander with whom he now has two sons.

“Rhode Island’s really been home for me ever since I went to PC,” he said.

He added: “When we saved up to buy our home, we chose to live in Cranston because we thought it was a great community to raise a family in. And so, I want to be a part of keeping Cranston a place where people want to move and raise a family and build a future.”

In 2013, Zelazo was hired to work in Pawtucket’s city government by that city’s mayor, Donald Grebien. After serving in a number of different roles, he now works as Pawtucket’s director of administration.

“I really love the work,” he said. It’s an odd thing to be passionate about, but I really am.”

Zelazo, 33, is making his professional experience a central part of his pitch to voters as he seeks a City Council seat. He has received endorsements from a number of current and former local officials, including several members of the city’s delegation to the General Assembly. He said his work on major issues and projects in Pawtucket, including the future of the PawSox and a new riverfront development anchored by a soccer stadium, has brought him into frequent and close contact with state lawmakers.

“Those things have brought me up to the State House, so I’ve built relationships and interacted with folks up there,” he said.

During his Radio Beacon interview, Zelazo shared his views on a range of issues facing Cranston. Foremost among them is the financial crunch facing the city and its school system.

“One way or another, yes, there will still be some certainty surrounding the state’s budget [in the weeks ahead],” he said. “But come January when new councilors are being sworn in, there will be a lot of uncertainty still surrounding local revenues. So I’d say I bring to the table, I think, to the table from day one the ability to be flexible and be creative and apply best practices to that.”

In terms of the reopening of public schools, Zelazo said many residents are rightfully concerned over the safety of students and educators. But he said other factors must be considered as well.

“Distance learning is better than no learning … but there’s social learning, emotional learning, as well as academic learning that takes place,” he said.

He added: “People are not making it up on the fly. There’s a lot of planning taking place. But it’s new to everybody. So having those discussions, asking questions, getting different perspectives really matters now … Nobody’s done COVID-19 before.”

In terms of economic development, Zelazo said he believes it is vital for the city to ensure businesses view Cranston as welcoming even as officials work to protect the interests of neighbors. Doing so, he said, is an essential piece of keeping property taxes in check.

He agrees with others that the Costco-anchored Cranston Crossing development plan is not suited for the Mulligan’s Island property on New London Avenue.

“Government doesn’t create private sector jobs. It creates the environment for the private sector to create those jobs,” he said.

He added: “I believe very strongly that we need to be a business-friendly city … You’ve got to be flexible, and you’ve got to send a message to businesses that you want them here.”

Regarding efforts to make the city’s workforce more reflective of its diverse population, Zelazo said he would work to implement an approach that looks beyond Cranston’s borders. Part of the challenge, he said, is that applicant pools for jobs such as police officers and firefighters are not as large as they once were.

“I think it’s a concerted, regional effort. I don’t think this is a Cranston-specific issue, I don’t think it’s a Pawtucket-specific issue … Providence all the way down to Westerly,” he said. “If everybody’s focused on diversifying your workforce, we need to think about and be intentional about how we interact with that applicant pool, both presently and in the future.”

Since his Radio Beacon appearance, Zelazo has endorsed Maria Bucci in the Democratic mayoral contest. In a statement announcing the endorsement, he pointed to Bucci’s business experience and said she “knows how to deliver for the community while maintaining fiscal discipline.”