What makes Steve Laffey run? (continued)

HE UNION representing Cranston’s crossing guards was so bothered by Laffey’s tactics that it exhorted its members to relinquish their registration with the Democratic Party, if only briefly, so they can vote against the mayor in the GOP primary. As reported in the Providence Journal, Donald S. Iannazzi, business manager for Public Service Employees, Local 1033, an element of Laborers International, sent 275 letters in early June, writing, "Together we will rid our community of irresponsible politicians like Cranston’s Stephen Laffey." A subsequent Republican challenge of 271 political-disaffiliation cards proved unsuccessful.

Like many people, Gary Reilly, Laffey’s GOP challenger, supported the incumbent when he ran for City Hall in 2002. Now, though, Reilly, a 53-year-old Pawtucket native who moved to Cranston 21 years ago, and served on the School Committee from 1988-92, says he – and many others -- are embarrassed by the city’s direction under Laffey. Reilly says one of his best friends pushed him to run for mayor, and that he later received advice from former mayor Michael Traficante, who works for the Laborers, on how to win union support. (It hardly seems a coincidence that Laffey engineered Traficante’s ouster in June from his post as GOP national committeeman.) "Obviously," Reilly says, referring to the municipal labor force, "they’re not hot happy with what’s going on and how they’ve been treated."

Cranston’s financial problems have yet to be resolved, Reilly says, because new contracts have yet to be negotiated with the unions. "There were problems with the crossing guards, no question," he says, but rather than working with the union to voluntarily reduce staffing by 13 guards, Laffey pursued a confrontational course, resulting in the city retaining – at least for now -- its previous full complement of 39 crossing guards. "Instead of saving $400,000, we wound up spending $800,000," Reilly says. "His attitude of ‘my way or the highway,’ it’s just not a way to run any business, certainly not any municipal business."

Speaking last week during an interview at his Park Avenue campaign office, down the street from City Hall, Reilly says the unions want to be a part of the solution in Cranston. Regarding Laffey’s frequent assertion that his challenger is an instrument of labor, Reilly says, "Nothing is further from the truth. Labor didn’t approach me to run. We ended up seeking out the support of labor, just as Mayor Laffey did two years ago . . . Was he a puppet and a pawn two years ago?" The GOP challenger, who says he feels confident, despite working with limited funds, adds, "You can’t degrade your employees and expect them to respond. You need to be able to communicate with them."

Laffey appears to relish a challenge, likening his willingness to scrape boat bottoms as a teenager with his dispatch in joining congressional candidate David Rogers on one of his underwater campaign tours. The main interest of municipal unions, he says, is to regain their sway over City Hall before upcoming contract talks. The issue of the crossing guards wouldn’t have surfaced, he says, unless he discovered funding tucked into a different budget account. "In Rhode Island, it’s only when it gets to be a crisis that people come out," Laffey says, and as such, he makes it his business to bring problems to the public.

Rejecting charges that he’s litigious, Laffey maintains that Cranston has realized overall savings from his administration’s actions. Although the use of hidden camera against municipal employees last year brought criticism, as well as an interview with CNN, he defends the tactic as effective. "These people were in public places, public facilities, with no thought of their being public employees," he says. In the aftermath of such an episode, isn’t it a safe bet, Laffey asks, "[that public employees are] thinking in the back of their minds, ‘What if the ‘Laffey Cam’ is out there?’ "

Although people tend to love or loathe Laffey, he elicits a wide range of opinions.

To critics like William Lynch, head of the Rhode Island Democratic Party – who readily acknowledges that Laffey is growing in stature as an adversary -- the mayor is nonetheless "a self-promoter of the first degree" who will eventually trip on his own hype. Lynch also faults the Cranston mayor for projecting an image that he single-handedly righted the city. Noting the Democratic majority on the city council, the party chief says, "It’s just not fair, nor do people find it acceptable, to blame the Democrats every time something goes wrong, but not to give credit when they [help to] right the ship."

But H. Philip West Jr., executive director of Common Cause of Rhode Island, credits Laffey with having "shown some real courage in taking on public-employee unions in Cranston. Clearly, over the years, they have developed an enormous power base that has intimidated previous mayors." Since special interests seek advantage – whether they be unions or corporations – "for Laffey to take them on as he has is something that I respect and appreciate."

Similarly, Councilman Randy Jackvony, although he had a falling out with Laffey, cites him for raising issues that other politicians were afraid to bring up (Jackvony, a Republican, also offers credit to taxpayers, who supported the burden of three tax hikes, and the council, in improving the city’s fiscal standing.) "He certainly is someone who is very driven," Jackvony says. "He has a sense of personal accomplishment, and I think that drives a lot of what he does. I think he is certainly someone who has eye on the future for his own political career, and I think that has motivated a lot of what he has done in Cranston. This is not a negative comment."

Former council president Kevin J. McAllister, a Democrat, supports Laffey’s actions with regard to collective bargaining, but he’s less certain about whether Cranston has been put on a long-term path to stability. Although Laffey has been a polarizing figure with ardent supporters and opponents, "I think that most people are skeptical and on the fence about him," McAllister says. "I think most people in Cranston really don’t know what to make of him. They’re not convinced he’s the real deal, and they’re not convinced he’s not."