Educate yourself on where the candidates stand on bike and pedestrian issues and vote in the primary election on Tuesday, September 9, as well as the general election on Tuesday, November 4.
Bicycling is a healthy, environmentally friendly, and economical way to travel. Research has shown that great bicycle infrastructure attracts young people and businesses and helps businesses profit (in addition to benefiting both health and the environment).
Making the choice easy and safe for people to use a bicycle or to walk for transportation is often up to our elected officials and their commitment to dedicate the resources needed to make our streets safe for everyone. It’s worth noting that nearly every city that has made major improvements to bike infrastructure and safety in recent memory has had a bicycle-friendly Mayor on board—see, for example, Chicago, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Memphis, to name just a few.
Given the key role a bicycle-friendly Mayor plays, the Rhode Island Bicycle Coalition hopes our next Mayor will be pro-bicycling.
To help RIBike members and other Providence cyclists understand the candidates’ views related to bicycling, we asked each candidate the same nine questions, giving them 11 days to respond. We contacted the candidates using the informational email addresses available on their campaign pages and sent candidates who did not respond two reminder emails in advance of the due date.
We hope you’ll take some time to read their responses; to dialogue with the candidates, us, and other Providence voters about bike and pedestrian issues here, at forums and events, or on Twitter; and to go to the polls on September 9 and November 4.
We would like to sincerely thank the candidates for taking the time to fill out our questionnaire.
2014 Candidates for Mayor of Providence
Click on the candidate’s name to read the Q&A
Democratic Candidates
>> Jorge Elorza
>> Michael Solomon – Did not respond
>> Chris Young
Republican Candidate
Independent Candidate
>> Buddy Cianci – Did not respond