Running on his record of personalized service, Lou Cirillo vowed that, if reelected as Bristol Town Clerk, he will continue to provide the best service possible to the town.

“I’ve worked hard to be a true public servant,” he said. “No one has to wait in line; no questions remain unanswered.”

Citing his tenure as leader of the Rhode Island Clerks Association as evidence that he has earned the respect and admiration of his colleagues statewide, he noted that while most people are aware of basic services his office provides, like licensing, many are unaware of the far-reaching and multifaceted aspects of the job, for which he often calls upon his broad base of experience in both the private sector and public service.

Challenger Melissa Cordeiro has worked as a senior clerk in the Town Clerk’s office for a decade, and she has some different ideas as to how the office should be run. “For 10 years I have listened,” she said. “And I understand how important it is to have an open, accessible, and transparent government.

“I also understand how busy our lives can get, with work, family, and children.”

Ms Cordeiro suggested that she could offer new and innovative ideas that can better meet the needs of residents and businesses.

“We need to modernize the clerk’s office and make sensible changes with technology that tax dollars have already paid for.”

Elected vs. appointed?

Asked if the position of Town Clerk should even be an elected office at all, or if it should be an appointment, as it is in all but eight Rhode Island communities, Mr. Cirillo said that, as it’s a tradition that dates back to 1681, “it’s a hard habit to break,” but that given the nature of the job, and the Town Clerk’s role in the electoral process itself, he thinks it probably ought to be an appointed position.

What’s most important?

Asked what she sees as the most important role for the Town Clerk, Ms. Cordeiro said it is to improve public access and transparency, and to make the office more convenient. She also said listening is probably one of the most important roles for the Clerk. “I’ve worked in that office for the last 10 years, and the one thing that I have done is listen to people. And what they are asking for is a more open, convenient, and transparent government.”

“I have spent 14 years listening to people also,” said Mr. Cirillo. In his experience, people don’t always come to him with issues that have one-size-fits-all solutions. “I have worked very hard to give personal service, regardless of any one way of addressing things.”

Convenience in the clerk’s office

Asked if his office could be more convenient, Mr. Cirillo replied “anything’s possible; certainly nobody that comes into that office waits in line. That’s a hallmark of what I’ve been able to provide. Convenience is a relative term. We’ve recently begun to accept credit cards, which is a good thing. But the downside is a credit card transaction takes about five times as long.”

“Technology has come a long way,” said Ms. Cordeiro. “And I think we need to take a more practical approach. It’s not about lines. Not everybody has the time to go to town hall between the hours of 8:30 and 4.

“Online capability does not take away from personal service, it just adds options for people with busy lives.”

Safe records online?

Asked how the town can ensure records are safe online, Ms. Cordeiro suggested that no private information would go online, just public information, such as digitized documents of council meetings and the like.

Mr. Cirillo countered that these documents are already digitized and available. “The difference is that the council made a decision — and there is a very definite separation between Council powers and Town Clerk powers — that they did not want those to appear immediately online. They’re available, they’re done, that was done years ago.”

Mr. Cirillo added that when he initially began posting that information, he was asked by the Council to take it down. “I was happy to do it,” he said. “But I was asked to take it down.”

“There’s always room to do things new and different,” Mr. Cirillo said. “I have always reacted to requests from the public … My opponent talks about all these requests she’s had; she shared very few if any with me while she was getting them.

“I will continue to press on to ensure that what needs to get done, gets done.”

Ms. Cordeiro disputes that Mr. Cirillo has been listening, citing the credit card issue as a case in point of something that people have been asking for for years, but was just put in place six months ago. “I’ve been using a credit card since I was almost 10,” she said.

Closing statements

In their closing statements, Mr. Cirillo noted that he’s worked very hard to get people what they need, any time, whether evenings or weekends. “A 30-second statement is about 88 words,” he said. “I don’t know that I can do that justice.”

“I have worked extremely hard … My opponent works a 6 1/2 hours a day; I've gotten extremely little help from anyone else in my office,” said Mr. Cirillo, as he ran out of allotted time (see below).

“My ideas are not revolutionary,” said Ms. Cordeiro, “but they are important … I will bring an effective combination of customer service experience and positive energy to this position…. No one has the right to a lifetime appointment to an elected position.”

Note: Mr. Cirillo walked back his comment on a Facebook post on the East Bay Newspapers page after the debate: “What I was referring to was bringing in technical advances. My staff works 6 1/2-hour days, by contract, on routine tasks helping customers and not on initiatives. I have worked on many initiatives during my time in office but honestly, I have worked on these alone. I did not intend to degrade anyone, it was just a statement of fact.”