A political rogue returns to the campaign trail
Say the name "Buddy" in one New England city, and every voter will know without a doubt which candidate you're talking about. Mo Rocca has joined him on the campaign trail:
At the Venda Ravioli in Providence, R.I., Buddy Cianci isn't just selling pasta sauce today; he's selling himself as Mayor of Providence -- again.
Cianci's good at running for mayor; he's been elected six times before.
And what is his recipe for a revitalized Providence? "Oh, leadership, vision and experience," he said. "It's simple!"
"Demographics of the city have really changed since you were last mayor," Rocca said.
"Sure they have -- but not the ingredients in the sauce here!"
But at 73, this isn't the same Buddy that left office in 2002. For starters, there's something missing.
He got rid of the toupee. "Well, you know, I didn't feel a need for it anymore," he laughed. "There was no need to wear it anymore. What you see is what you get. And by the way, a lot of people say I look a lot better without that squirrel on my head, you know?"
"You did call it a squirrel, right?"
"Yeah, I did. I named it. It was my pet. I named it 'the Squirrel.'"
But the baggage Buddy Cianci carries from his 21 years in the mayor's office may be a little harder to lose.
His first go-around in City Hall ended in disgrace in 1984, after he pleaded no contest to assaulting the man Cianci suspected was having an affair with his estranged wife.
"At one point, you know, he hurls an ashtray at the man; the man ducks, and it misses him," recounted Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mike Stanton, who wrote the book on Cianci. "He tries to club him with a fireplace log. One of his aides jumps in and deflects the blow."
Rocca asked Cianci, ""Did you throw a log at him?"
"No, no," he replied. "I did pick up a log and threw it in the fireplace."
But Stanton called Cianci's account "total fabrication. He tried to club him. His public works director, I believe it was, jumped in and stopped him."
Cianci said to Rocca, "There's nothing new about my past. No one's gonna get a Pulitzer Prize, and no one is gonna get an Emmy by talking about what happened -- 'cause that's hardly worth, it's not breaking news."
His second stretch as mayor started 1991, and ended in 2002 with a conviction for racketeering that landed him in jail for four-and-a-half years.
Rocca said, "You will not acknowledge that you did anything knowingly wrong to put you in there?"
"I will tell you that -- talk to the jury, because the jury found me not guilty of all charges except one," said Cianci. "I'm not saying I didn't make mistakes. I did."
However, Stanton said, "Buddy will tell you they only got him on one count. But that one count counted. And racketeering conspiracy is, basically, you're masterminding a criminal enterprise out of City Hall."
Which is exactly how the judge described Providence under Cianci: "A criminal enterprise," where bribery, extortion and pay-to-play were business-as-usual.
Cianci, a Republican-turned-Independent, was released from prison in 2007.
When asked by Rocca if she should have gone to prison, Cianci replied, "You know, under the system of law that we have, yeah, I guess, that you're supposed to pay the price. I've always proclaimed my innocence, okay? Oh, I will do that forever."
So what are Cianci's proudest achievements? "Raising the self-esteem of the people of the city of Providence to levels they never thought they could achieve."
Fair enough. Providence, under Cianci in the 1990s, boomed, with hundreds of millions of investment dollars pouring into the city. A bustling riverfront district was created, along with nationally-recognized art and restaurant scenes.
Money magazine even named it one of its Best Places to Live in America.
"He does get credit for being, I think, a really good cheerleader for the city when it underwent its renaissance," said Stanton. "'Cause Providence always has been kind of the stepchild to Boston -- the 'smudge on the highway to Cape Cod,' as the Wall Street Journal once called us."
It's memories of the "Good Buddy" that have kept hope alive for another return to office.
When asked why he was supporting Cianci, one man told Rocca, "Because I really believe in my heart that over the years, he's the only man that's ever really done anything for the city."
"Okay. Does it bother you that he spent time in prison?"
"No. No it doesn't. Absolutely not," said one woman.
Buddy's past is hardly out of synch in a state with a history of so much corruption it was once dubbed "Rogue's Island."
Rocca asked, ""The crimes for which he was convicted, are people in Rhode Island just sort of used to that kind of thing?"
"Well, there is a bit of jadedness about it," Stanton laughed. "There's a whole conga line of Rhode Island politicians who have been indicted or gone to prison."
"Ex-cons have been elected in other cities. Is there another situation that's comparable to this one?"
"Well, I think Buddy comes from this long tradition of political rogues in America. I mean, you go back to James Michael Curley, who was reelected from a jail cell; Huey Long; and Marion Barry, who was re-elected."
Rocca asked Cianci, ""Do you think that a little bit of funny business behind the scenes is inevitable in city government?"
"I think in this day and age, and especially with me, where I've been and what I've been through and with the experience I've had, no, I don't think that's allowable. I don't think that's necessary to run a government."
"You think zero tolerance is possible?"
"Yeah, absolutely zero tolerance," Cianci said. "'Cause I'm not doing this to go back to jail. And I know I'm gonna be one of the closest-watched administrations probably in American history. I mean, if they find anything wrong with me, they'll send the SEAL Team Six in."
Cianci's Cemocratic opponent, Jorge Elorza, hopes Cianci never gets the chance to redeem himself.
"This is my first campaign for mayor; I was a judge for the past four years. And so I stepped down to launch the campaign and it's been a great experience."
A recent poll has Elorza comfortably ahead of Cianci.
"You know, it's been about 24 years since he ran a competitive race," said Elorza. "And frankly, demographically the city has changed since then. But also the sensibilities in the city. We don't want to return back to the pay-to-play politics of the past."
Cianci's best hope may be that voters remember Providence's glory days.
His only other hope may well be divine providence.
When asked if he thinks Cianci will win, Stanton said, "I don't know that he will win. I think he has an uphill battle. The math is against him. But people always say, don't count Buddy Cianci out."
For more info:
- cianciformayor.com
- elorzaformayor.com
- "The Prince of Providence: The Rise and Fall of Buddy Cianci, America's Most Notorious Mayor" by Mike Stanton (Random House); Also available on eBook format
- Read an excerpt
- Mike Stanton, Journalism Department, University of Connecticut
- Follow Mike Stanton on Twitter (@projomike)