A longtime political candidate and former chair of the Republican City Committee is running for Ward 4 again - this time as a Democrat.

Michael Penta, a member of the Planning Board, is making his fourth run for the seat as current councilman James McElroy runs for higher office.

Penta ran for Ward 4 as an independent in 2022, receiving 27.4% of the vote in a three-way general election. He ran as the Republican candidate in the 2012 Ward 4 race and 2016 Rhode Island House of Representatives District 21 race, and as an independent in Ward 4 in 2018.

He, alongside his wife Angelica, is a co-owner of Gel’s Kitchen, which has locations in Warwick and West Warwick.

Penta’s inspiration to run again, he said, came largely from wanting to bring his experience to a council that will be losing a lot of experience.

“I’ve been involved in the city for a good 28-30 years,” Penta said. “I’m very familiar with the city, very familiar with the finances.”

Four current members - Ward 3’s Tim Howe, McElroy, Ward 6’s Donna Travis and Council President Steve McAllister - are not running for reelection.

While he doesn’t have any council experience, Penta said that his three and a half years of experience on the Planning Board will give him a leg up and allow him to adjust to being a councilman more quickly.

“You get new heads up there- at least I know what I’m doing,” Penta said.

Penta said that being able to collaborate with the mayor and other members of the council was a top priority for him, and said that in the past, political bickering had kept the city from making progress.

However, he said that the city has improved in its ability to work together over the past few years, which he gave credit to the City Council’s current members for.

“It takes a lot of courage to go out there and do that job,” Penta said. “I feel especially in the past four years,  they’ve all worked with the office, they were able to compromise. I think they did a great job of getting to where it’s at.”

The city, he said, has done a great job in terms of improving upon its infrastructure as well throughout the Picozzi administration.

“We’ve had a great last couple of years,” Penta said. “Finally, we see these nice rescue [cars] come in, fire trucks, police cars, city cars, trash vehicles. And I’d like to be able to continue to see that move forward. My goal will be to work for the Ward 4 constituents, let them know who their councilman is, let him know that he’s there and gets things done for them.”

As Penta prepares to walk the ward again, he’s also hopes that the Ward 4 community will come to know him not just as a political candidate, but as a person.

“If elected, my goal is to go out there and bring the community together,” Penta said. “Whether it’s gathering down at Conimicut Point and having open events- not to meet with your councilman but to meet with me as a person. These are my goals- to let the people know that I’m there for them.”