What do Joe Castellone, Mark Lucas, and Emilio Navarro all have in common? They are all vying for the job of city councilor for Ward 2 in Cranston, where we live. I have asked all three brave men, and all three have agreed, to participate in a survey about how they would respond to hypothetical scenarios of a Cranston city councilor, should they be lucky one to claim this job.

One goal of this blog is to change the quality of discourse on government, and (hopefully) contribute to a better quality discourse. Candidates for local election generally put out campaign literature that, regardless of party affiliation, support many of the same general premises — improving public education and other critical public services, keeping taxes as low as possible, etc. The scenarios that I offer to the Ward 2 candidates are meant to help tease out more detail about what these general ideas mean to them in terms of Cranston’s particular predicaments.

Here is a preview of the hypothetical situations which I am asking them to respond to. We should be publishing everyone’s answers later this week. Feel free to comment with your own responses, or to suggest other questions, should I do this again in the future, or with other candidates (the Cranston mayoral candidates are a possibility, if they would all deign to respond to a blog):

School Funding

1. The school department, which got a 7% increase in funding from the city this year, is still short $2.6 million for the 2006/2007 budget after receiving its state aid. In January of 2007, they approach the city council and ask for $2.6 million from the city’s surplus in order to cover their costs. As a member of the council, how would you deal with this request?

School Closings

2. Although next year’s school budget is funded with another 7% increase from the city, they still do not have enough money to cover their costs and announce that they are going to have to close Daniel D. Waterman Elementary school unless the city comes up with more money for the schools. How would you handle this?

Police Contract

3. In March of 2007, the new Mayor announces that he has reached a contract with the police department, long overdue from 2006. This contract includes yearly raises of 3.5%, 4.5% and 4% for each year of the three-year contract. There is a 3% copay for healthcare. There are no provisions for increasing the number of officers or for minority recruitment, although both were recommended in a 2003 audit. Would you approve this contract?

Floods

4. 2007 brings more floods, including flooding again on Fordson Ave and some surrounding areas. Would you advocate for the city to help residents in flooded areas? If so, what kind of help?

Federal Funding

5. The New Mayor announces that he has gotten letters from Rep. Langevin and Sen. XXX asking if there are projects that the city would like to seek federal funds to pursue. These include projects for economic development, parks and facilities improvement, safety, education, and social services. What projects, if any, would you suggest for Ward 2, or for the city as a whole?