John Lombardi is running for mayor of Providence in 2010.  He hasn't said he is going to run, but his new campaign site leaves very little doubt.  At this point, he only says he is, "very serious" about exploring the possibility.  He has hired a campaign manager, set up an exploratory committee, and launched a new web site.  I would be shocked if he didn't run.

     There have been several possible candidates mentioned for mayor in 2010, but unfortunately, they are all Democrats.  Not only does the Republican party not have a viable candidate on the horizon, but it hasn't had a strong candidate since Fred Lippitt ran against Buddy Cianci in 1990.  It would be nice to see a strong candidate emerge, but I really don't have much hope at this point.  

     If a viable republican candidate doesn't emerge, the Democratic primary would likely be see once again as "the election,"  as it was in 2002 when David Cicilline, Joseph Paolino, David Igliozzi, and Keven McKenna all ran.  It would be nice to see a strong Republican candidate emerge, but if one doesn't, I would be content with a Democrat who doesn't grant tax breaks to campaign contributors, fire officials under suspicious circumstances, or require protesters to register.  In other words, it would be nice to have a mayor not named David Cicilline.