Election 2018: East Providence primary results
DaSilva, Russo advance to contest first elected mayor race
EAST PROVIDENCE — City residents went to the polls on a rainy Wednesday, Sept. 12, to cast their ballots in the 2018 primary election, though the first official winners from the evening came from …
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Election 2018: East Providence primary results
DaSilva, Russo advance to contest first elected mayor race
(Updated, Sept. 13, 11:30 a.m.) EAST PROVIDENCE — Voters in the September 12 primary determined the final two candidates to become East Providence’s first elected mayor, choosing former state representative Roberto DaSilva and James Russo, a one-time staff member for Lt. Governor/U.S. Representative Robert Weygand, to vie for the position in the November 6 general election.
Mr. DaSilva, a Ward 3 resident, received the most votes, 3,300, with Mr. Russo, likewise a resident of Ward 3, in second, garnering 2,835.
The pair emerged from a four-way primary that also included multi-time elected city official Chrissy Rossi (third; 1,364 votes) and current city building inspector Albert Quattrucci (fourth; 440).
“I’m very pleased to do as well as we did and I look forward to continuing the hard work of bringing positive change to our city. We worked very hard. We ran a grass-roots campaign, just tried to reach out to as many people as we could,” Mr. DaSilva said of his victory late last Wednesday evening.
City residents went to the polls on a rainy September 12 to cast their ballots in the 2018 primary election, though the first official winners from the evening came from out of town.
Two of East Providence's split general assembly seats, for State Representative District 66 and State Senate District 32, were decided well before the final votes in city were totaled.
Liana Cassar secured victory over John Chung in the House 66 Democrat race by a final count of 1,502-917. Ms. Cassar will face the only Republican running, Rhonda Holmes.
Both Barrington residents in the district composed mostly of wards in that town, Ms. Cassar defeated Mr. Chung there by a margin of 1,135-571. She won in East Providence, 367-346.
In an interview a short time after her win, Ms. Cassar said she planned to enjoy the primary victory for a bit, and then continue to talk to residents about bringing a change to the Rhode Island Statehouse.
“People want to be a part of making a change in their community," she said. "Together we're going to do that… I can't do this alone."
Also in a district mostly outside of the city, incumbent Democrat Cynthia Coyne ran unopposed for the party nomination in Senate 32 as did her Republican opponent, East Providence resident David Aucoin. Senate 32 is mainly a Barrington district with small sections of Bristol and East Providence included as well.
But it was the city-wide races, of course, that were the main priority for East Providence voters, who for the first time in its history will choose an elected mayor. Mr. DaSilva won that primary, defeating Mr. Russo by 465 votes and setting the stage for what would appear to be a tightly contested race come the fall.
“I have a tremendous group of supporters,” Mr. DaSilva continued. “I’m very grateful for their friendship and support. It’s humbling that so many people turned out to vote for me today.”
Mr. DaSilva won 11 of the 18 precincts, including three impressive totals from the center of the city. His largest victory came at the St. Francis Church polling station in Ward 2, 302-119, with Mr. Russo placing second. Mr. DaSilva also won by a significant margin (335-176) in another Ward 2 polling place, the Hennessey Elementary School and scored a decisive tally over Mr. Russo at City View Manor, 279-88, a Ward 1 polling place also in the heart of the city.
“We campaigned all over the city. We certainly did well in some neighborhoods. In other neighborhoods my opponents were stronger. That’s the nature of politics,” Mr. DaSilva added. "This was just the first leg of the race. We still have a lot of work to do during the general election."
Mr. Russo, in turn, won six of the precincts. His largest win came from the Harbor View station in Ward 4, 214-124, over Mr. DaSilva.
Mrs. Rossi, who placed second to Mr. Russo in two precincts in Ward 4, won the other polling place to report with 118 votes from Riverside Congregational Church in Ward 3. Mr. DaSilva was second there with 90 and Mr. Russo third with 83.
The only other primaries in city were for state offices.
Three-term House 63 incumbent Kathryn Kazarian easily won Democrat support for her re-election bid over former school committee member Elizabeth Clupny, 1,852-346. Ms. Kazarian faces Independent candidate Christopher Holland in the general, a rematch of the 2016 race the former won with relative ease.
Two newcomers to elected office appeared headed to wins in their Democrat primaries and are unopposed in the general.
Valerie Lawson was the clear victor over Delmar Condinho by nearly 600 votes in the Senate District 14 race, 2,020-1,465. Ms. Lawson is unopposed in the general and is all but assured of assuming the seat held for the last 20 years by retiring senator Daniel DaPonte.
Meanwhile, Jose Seriodio held an extremely narrow 12-vote lead (776-764) over another office-seeking neophyte David O'Connell in the House 63 race that was headed for a recount. Mr. O’Connell, in a follow-up correspondence, said he made the request of the State Board of Elections on Thursday, Sept. 13. Whoever is certified, like Ms. Lawson, will run without opposition in November.
Of note as well, three-term Senate District 18 incumbent Democrat William Conley ran unopposed in the primary, but is being challenged by Independent candidate Jack Peters in the general.
Also on the ballot, but running without an opponent in the primary and in the general, was three-term incumbent Democrat Gregg Amore in House District 65. He’ll begin a fourth term on January 1, 2019.
All of the pre-primary incumbents/favorites in the state-wide races were winners in East Providence, as well: Democrats Governor Gina Raimondo, Lieutenant Governor Dan McKee, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Representative David Cicilline; Republicans Allen Fung for governor, Robert Flanders for U.S. Senate and Patrick Donovan for U.S. Representative.
The final primary vote totals from East Providence were delayed for about 45 minutes late Wednesday evening because of an issue with the voting machines at the St. Francis Church polling place, the last of the 18 precincts to be counted in the city. The recording discs from the machines were sent to the Board of Elections for transcribing.
