Ward 2 Choice: Picturesque -- or Panicked

With Cindy Fogarty's decision to run for Mayor of Cranston, her Ward 2 Council seat is now up for grabs.

And, just as with the Mayor's race, the early signs are that there will be a clear decision to make -- between an independent-minded candidate who wants to improve the community, and a mindless robot of the establishment.

Respectively, they are Joe Castellone and Emilio Navarro. Mr. Castellone is clearly upset with the way Mayor Steve Laffey has run the city, he's a supporter of Councilwoman Fogarty, and he has said that one of his top priorities is to focus on local beautification efforts.

Castellone recently explained that the city can get federal money for a tree-planting program (rather than spend local taxpayer dollars) -- if only the local elected officials would apply for it. Mr. Laffey hasn't put in one request for federal money through Congressman Jim Langevin's office in four years, by the way.

On the other side is Mr. Navarro, President of Budlong Little League. This is most likely the reason Mr. Navarro is getting support from the local Democratic establishment-- Mr. Navarro looks good on paper and will (presumably) not need any actual help or money from the party.

Aside from this, though, Mr. Navarro appears to believe that insulting the local police department with a panic campaign will help his chances of election.

A short review of the facts:

The Cranston Herald reported on June 8 that a local daycare provider (left unidentified) had gotten word that a sex offender has registered with the local police department as a condition of his release from prison, and has moved into either Eden Park or Auburn.

The daycare provider then printed 500 copies of a handmade poster and, without consulting with the local police department, started distributing the posters.
Mr. Navarro got into the act, even standing outside a local supermarket to distribute the potentially illegal handbill.

Legally speaking, the degree to which local law enforcement can identify released sex offenders is still in debate. But what IS clear, is that vigilantism by neighbors is completely wrong -- it sidesteps the function of law enforcement and substitutes panic for legitimate vigilance.

A better decision -- particulary by Mr. Navarro, who is depending on his reputation of Little League President to get elected -- would have been to coordinate neighborhood meetings with police officers to review the proper steps to take to protect their children.

Instead, by further marginalizing and stigmatizing the ex-con, Mr. Navarro may just cause the result he claims he's trying to stop: another attack on a child. (Any psychological expert will tell you that this is what causes people to commit sex crimes in the first
place.)

So, the decision in Ward 2 this year will be between Mr. Castellone, who believes in improving the community, and Mr. Navarro, who would rather panic his neighbors and insult our hard-working police officers.