Warwick City Council President Joseph Solomon, who will become acting mayor when incumbent Republican Scott Avedisian steps down to become director of the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, said today he will run for mayor.
“I intend to serve our great city as mayor not only for the remainder of this term, but also for the next two-year term starting next January, if that’s the will of the voters” said Solomon, a Democrat, in a statement.
The timing of Avedisian’s formal departure is somewhat up in the air. The RIPTA board approved his hiring this afternoon. But Avedisian said in an interview that he will stay in office until the legal requirements for a special election pass, which means the city won’t have a special election. In that case, voters will choose nominees in the September primaries and the November general election.
Under the city charter, the special election cutoff is 180 days before a general election.But Avedisian said there is some vagueness because of a competing state statute. Avedisian, a Republican has been mayor since 2000, when he won a special election after then-Mayor Lincoln Chafee left office upon his appointment to the U.S. Senate by Gov. Lincoln Almond. Almond tapped Chafee for the Senate after Chafee’s father, Sen. John H. Chafee died in office in 1999.
Solomon, a lawyer, has served as the city’s Ward 4 council member from the Conimicut neighborhood since 2001.
“I want to thank Mayor Avedisian for his long career of service to our city,” Solomon said in a statement.