This year we know that politics is about more than party or even individual candidates. We are surrounded by division — over race, gender, education, income, the challenge of climate change and so much else. Politics has gotten personal and close to home. As is the case across the nation, we see the political divides playing out in our families, our neighborhoods, our health care, in our schools, our social circles, our houses of worship and even on social media. Our goal is to report this year’s political story from the perspective of you, the voter. How are the current issues and divides affecting you? Your family? Your community?
One community we’ll be taking a particularly close look at is Cranston, through our One Square Mile project. We do this every year, digging deeply into the stories of an individual community.
Cranston is known historically for its political diversity. It was a Republican redoubt; it wasn’t until 1960 that Cranston voters supported a Democratic presidential candidate, John F. Kennedy, the senator from neighboring Massachusetts, who was the first Roman Catholic elected to the White House.
Since then, many candidates for top statewide offices on the Republican side have hailed from Cranston, beginning in the 1960s with Mayor Jimmy DiPrete, who was nearly elected to Congress. In the 1970s, Mayor Jim Taft ran unsuccessfully for governor. In the 1980s, Mayor Edward DiPrete won three elections for governor, then lost in 1990. In 2006, Mayor Steven Laffey challenged then-Republican US Sen. Lincoln Chafee in a primary. And in 2014 and 2018, Mayor Allan Fung was the Republican candidate for governor, losing twice to Democrat Gina Raimondo.
On the other side, the state’s longest serving federal office holder, Democratic US Sen. Jack Reed grew up in Cranston. He represented the city in the state Senate until he won election to the US House in 1990.
Now, the Republican-Democratic divide no longer represents just policy differences.
As the weeks dwindle toward the November election, we are looking to talk politics with Cranston voters from the liberal community of Edgewood to the more conservative neighborhoods in the western part of the city, where the General Assembly district represented by House Speaker Nick Mattiello, a Democrat, was carried comfortably by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
We want to ensure a deep and balanced view of the city and its increasingly diverse neighborhoods. We want to hear from you Glen Hills, Eden Park, Garden City, Dean Estates, Knightsville, the Friendly Community and Western Cranston. Whether you live hard by Roger Williams Park or west of Route 295.
Maybe you are an old Cranston family whose members worked at Cranston Print or the Narragansett Brewery. Perhaps you and yours now work at TACO, or one of the many state offices in the city, such as the Traffic Court, Department of Motor Vehicles of the ACI. Or perhaps you earn a living at one of the many small businesses across Cranston.
There are important contests this year for mayor, the legislature and city council. As well as Congress, the US Senate and of, course, the presidency. Whether you were born here or are a newcomer, we want to listen to you.
And hey, maybe you don’t live in Cranston at all, but you want to weigh in. We want to hear from you, too.
To tell these stories in a time of pandemic, we need your help. Please share your perspective with us.
