Warwick’s three mayoral candidates can’t seem to find much common ground on the issues affecting the city — including how the ground itself is maintained.

At a debate Thursday afternoon inside a packed Warwick Public Library, Democratic challenger Leah Hazelwood criticized Independent Mayor Frank Picozzi’s administration for only having two city workers dedicated to mowing the city’s public areas.

Picozzi maintained the city has “multiple people cutting,” but that wasn’t enough for Hazelwood, who demanded to know who exactly was in charge of cutting the grass.

“That’s me, I go out and start the lawnmowers every morning,” Picozzi responded.

That generated a few giggles from the standing-room audience, along with a slight smirk from Independent Patrick E. Maloney, Jr., who is also on the Nov. 5 ballot.

No Democrat dared to challenge Picozzi after he unseated incumbent Joe Solomon in 2020, but Hazelwood — who has the endorsement of Warwick state representative and Rhode Island House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi — is hoping to bring the city back under a Democratic administration. The victor of this year’s general election will win the first four-year term since the Warwick City Council approved the change last year.

Moderated by WJAR’s Gene Valicenti, the hour-long debate hosted by the Warwick Beacon covered issues ranging from speed cameras, school bonds and chickens.

Raising livestock is permitted in the city, but only if a lot is a minimum of five acres. Maloney, a former vice chairperson of the Warwick School Committee, was the only one of the three candidates who said he would like to see the City Council update the ordinance in order for all residents — as long as the chickens were enclosed.

“We should be teaching our kids how to grow food,” he said.

Hazelwood, the current School Committee vice chairperson, said she favors community gardening, but not having chickens in the city.

“They just make a lot of noise,” she said. “You need a rooster if you’re going to have chickens.”

Picozzi was against the idea due to an issue at the center of the Cranston mayoral race three days prior: “They draw rats.”

Where the three candidates greatly differed was whether more speed cameras should be installed across the city.

Maloney was against it, while Picozzi’s all for them. The mayor said police ran a test on Sept. 4 on five of Warwick’s intersections and found 1,127 traffic infractions.

“It’s rampant and it’s dangerous,” Picozzi said.

Hazelwood said she’s fine with cameras to stop speeders in school zones, but does not want the city to rely on fines for supplementary income.

“Behavior will change,” she said. “Once people get those tickets, you’re going to see a drop in those funds coming in.”

Candidates also clashed over the city’s contentious relationship with the quasi-government agency that runs T.F. Green International Airport, which is in the center of Warwick. Discussion focused mostly on the Rhode Island Airport Corporation’s (RIAC) construction of a $100 million new cargo facility.

Picozzi wanted trucks diverted away from city streets, along with a sound barrier near residences on Strawberry Field Road. As the mayor puts it: RIAC had assured him the two demands would be met, but never planned to follow through (which airport officials dispute). That led Warwick officials to file a lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration last summer.

The issue has since been resolved, Picozzi said at the debate.

Maloney acknowledged “the mayor fought hard” in getting the sound barrier and traffic diversion, but should have gotten assurance in writing right from the start.

“He did not do his due diligence,” Maloney said.

Hazelwood said a lawsuit wouldn’t have been necessary had Picozzi stayed at the table with the airport corporation.

“There was no table to sit on,” Picozzi responded. “And there’s no contract — they made assurances at public meetings and didn’t come through.”

The trio did agree on one issue: Warwick, much like the rest of the state, needs more affordable housing and would construct accessory dwelling units on their own property if they had the space.

A full video of the debate can be viewed on the Warwick Public Library’s Facebook page.

The general election will be held on Nov. 5. Early voting starts Oct. 16.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Christopher Shea covers politics, the criminal justice system and transportation for the Rhode Island Current. Rhode Island Current is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization. Read more Rhode Island Current stories on their website, rhodeislandcurrent.com.

Watch a recording of the debate here: https://fb.watch/v8VbCUKw-U/.