PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Law professor Jorge Elorza has won the Democratic primary for mayor of Providence and will face former Mayor Buddy Cianci, a twice-convicted felon, in the general election.
Elorza defeated City Council President Michael Solomon in Tuesday’s primary.
Elorza, 37, grew up in Providence after his parents immigrated to the U.S. from Guatemala. He has not held elected office, but served as an appointed part-time judge on the city’s housing court. He is a tenured professor at Roger Williams University School of Law.
The race now becomes a three-way contest pitting Elorza and Republican Daniel Harrop against Cianci, an independent.
Cianci was forced from office twice due to felony convictions, the most recent in 2002. He was convicted of racketeering conspiracy for presiding over widespread corruption in City Hall. His earlier conviction came in 1984 after he used an ashtray and fireplace log to assault a man he believed was having an affair with his estranged wife.
There are more than 11 times as many registered Democrats as Republicans in Providence, and in recent years, a win in the primary has been a de facto win in November. But Cianci’s entry into the race threw that dynamic out the window.
Cianci has never lost a mayoral election and he is still extremely popular among some residents, who credit him with helping to revive its down-at-the heels downtown and supporting arts and cultural institutions to make Providence into what Cianci dubbed “The Renaissance City.”
But as many people love Cianci as hate him and say he will bring shame and embarrassment to a city that has moved on.
The primary race centered largely around who would be best positioned to beat Cianci. Elorza argued that he was the strongest contender because he could draw on a coalition of support from several parts of the city, including the Hispanic neighborhoods on the city’s South Side and the wealthy areas on the East Side near Brown University.
At a polling place on the East Side, Jim Maxwell, a mathematician, said he thought Elorza might do better than Solomon against Cianci, but that wasn’t the top reason he voted for him.
“I was looking for somebody that will try to address the fiscal challenges that the city faces. Maybe somebody who’s also a little bit of a fresh face,” he said.
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