By JENNETTE BARNES
With four open City Council seats at stake in Tuesday's election, rookie council members will make up nearly half the governing body in 2001. Unlike in 1998, when four candidates ran unopposed, Tuesday's election has the potential to create a noticeable shift in the way the council interacts with Republican Mayor Scott Avedisian.
Among the open seats, Wards 4 and 7 are expected to be close. Controversy has swirled around Everett O'Donnell (R) and Joseph Solomon (D) in Ward 4, where meticulous Finance Committee Chair Gene Kelly (D) decided not to seek reelection. First came the challenge to Solomon's residency, and now O'Donnell has been confronted with a conflict-of-interest case as a result of his federally funded job at the Warwick Housing Authority.
Republican Joe Harrington's run for School Committee left Ward 7 open, and the post could go to a Democrat, potentially increasing the party's majority of six seats. Party affiliation is not a litmus test for council races, though, and the quiet battle between Republican Andrew Johnson and Charles J. “C.J.” Donovan Jr., son of the former mayor, has no clear winner.
Fiscally cautious Council President Gerald Gibbons, a Democrat, leaves the Ward 2 seat to a pair of rivals with no political experience. Both Edward Collins Jr. (R) and Donald Torres (D) are lifelong Warwick residents, but the unease Collins displayed at the League of Women Voters debate exaggerates his youthfulness and could be the Republican's undoing.
The final open seat, Ward 6, features unopposed Democrat William Foley. After ousting respected Councilwoman Donna Travis in a nail-biting Democratic primary that was only settled after a State Board of Elections recount, Foley faced Republican Jude Plante until Plante dropped out in October. All that remains to be seen is whether Foley can garner the esteem of constituents not only in Buttonwoods, where he lives, but in Travis' Oakland Beach stronghold.
Incumbent Ward 8 Councilman Lewis Pryeor (D), like Foley, has no challenger. In fact, he has never had an opponent in a general election. In 1998, when Pryeor won his first term on the council, his only race was the close Democratic primary against incumbent Al Ferruolo.
Bill Munroe, a Republican, has outspent Councilman Richard DeGregorio (D) by more than 100 percent, but the four-term incumbent is favored to win.
Incumbency also plays a substantial role in Ward 5, where council veteran Carlo Pisaturo, a Democrat-turned-independent, is seeking reelection. Democratic challenger Gerald Sciamacco has run on the premise that Pisaturo is unresponsive to constituents, but little public outcry has surfaced to substantiate the claim. The only three-way council race also includes Republican Robert Quinlan, whose primary campaign issues are commercial sprawl, open space, and traffic congestion.
In Ward 9, voters are faced with a rematch of Democrat Steve Merolla, now the incumbent, and Republican Christopher Sirr, whom Merolla ousted in 1998. While Sirr served on the council for eight years, the candidates have focused on similar issues related to land use and open space. No substantial push to change the ward's representative has emerged.
The Ward 1 race pits Councilwoman Sue Stenhouse (R) against Democrat Gary Jarvis, who has run in the past. Stenhouse has only been in office since the May special election that followed Avedisian's mayoral win, but her enthusiasm and solid connection to the mayor are expected to carry her to a smooth victory.
If neither Everett O'Donnell nor Andrew Johnson come out victorious, Stenhouse could be the lone Republican on the council. While Mayor Avedisian counts Stenhouse as both a former campaign worker and a friend, she may not be enough to sway the council on mayoral appointments or initiatives that don't please the Democrats.
A strong Democratic showing in the polls will also affect the council presidency. Longtime councilman Carlo Pisaturo, as a defector from the party, may have trouble securing the position.
The only incumbent Democrats are DeGregorio, Pryeor, and Merolla, which may be why Pryeor has already expressed interest in the presidency. Merolla may also vie for the post, but DeGregorio's intentions are unclear.