Candidates vie for congressional seat

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - Afghanistan, the economy and Providence Mayor David Cicilline’s leadership of the capital city were the big issues Tuesday night when the four Democrats vying to succeed U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy in Congress tangled in their first debate.

Cicilline , who is leading the pack in fundraising so far, took the stage alongside his opponents; businessman Anthony Gemma , former Rhode Island Democratic Party Chairman Bill Lynch and state Rep. David Segal.

WPRI 12 sponsored the televised debate, which was held at the Providence Performing Arts Center and moderated by Target 12 Investigator Tim White, the host of “Newsmakers.”

• Watch the full Congressional debate

The winner of the Sept. 14 Democratic primary is expected to face Republican John Loughlin , a three-term state representative from Tiverton, in the general election Nov. 2.

• Debate Analysis: Who Won?

DOUBTS ON AFGHANISTAN

Cicilline, Lynch and Segal expressed serious doubts about President Barack Obama’s decision to send more troops to Afghanistan before a withdrawal begins in July 2011.

• Debate Fact Check: Cost of War

Cicilline said he is “very serious about getting out of that country,” but unlike Segal, he said he would not vote against funding for the war so long as U.S. troops were stationed there.

Lynch pointed out that the country had spent $910 billion as of last fall on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“We should not have a bridge between Providence and Pawtucket on Route 95 that we have to wait six or seven years to have repaired when we are spending $40 billion fixing bridges and roads in Iraq,” he said. “That’s wrong.”

But Lynch also struck a more hawkish note when it came to terrorists, opposing civilian trials for terrorists , backing the death penalty for Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and ruling out closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba.

CALLS FOR STIMULUS

Segal said he would support “a job-intensive stimulus” bill that focused on infrastructure and renewable energy.

Cicilline pointed out that he and other mayors had pushed Congress to include more infrastructure money in the original stimulus bill . He also called for a national manufacturing policy to boost employment in that sector.

SOCIAL SECURITY

On Social Security , Cicilline and Lynch both flatly ruled out raising the retirement age to 70, as recently suggested by House Minority Leader John Boehner and members of President Obama’s deficit commission. (Under current law, the retirement age will increase to 67 by 2022.)

Segal, who is 30, said it might be reasonable to adjust the retirement age for younger workers, but he also disputed that Social Security faces a major funding crisis. (The program’s trust fund can pay full benefits until 2043 without changes to the law, according to the Congressional Budget Office .)

Gemma said he had changed his mind about his previous support for privatization of Social Security.

“I have done my research and my homework and I do not believe that is the way we should go as a country,” he said.

MAYOR DEFENDS RECORD

Cicilline faced a critique from Lynch, who promoted himself as a Washington outsider, particularly because of the Providence mayor’s strong control over the school system . Lynch said there had been “seven years of inaction within the Providence school system” under Cicilline’s leadership.

The mayor defended his record, pointing to a low crime rate, new after-school programs and his efforts to clean up City Hall. Cicilline said his experience would come in handy in Congress.

“I know what works. I know what doesn’t work. And I know how to get things done,” he said.

PARTISANSHIP IN QUESTION

Gemma, a political newcomer who struggled to gain his footing against three seasoned politicians, faced questions about his loyalty to the Democrat Party, which he recently joined. He defended his $1,000 donation to Republican Gov. Donald Carcieri in 2006 as a show of support for the governor’s backing for separation-of-powers legislation.

Lynch faced the opposite question as a fiercely partisan Democrat. He said he had been doing his job as head of the party in Rhode Island and needed to be vocal because of his opposition to the Bush and Carcieri administrations’ policies.

RARE OPEN SEAT

Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District includes a thin but heavily populated slice of Rhode Island stretching from Burrillville in the Northwest down to the southern tip of Aquidneck Island.

Patrick Kennedy – son of the late Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy – has represented the district since 1995. He succeeded Republican Ronald Machtley , who is now president of Bryant University in Smithfield.

In fact, the 1st District seat has been held by just four men since World War II: Kennedy, Machtley, Fernand St. Germain and Aime Forand. Kennedy’s announcement earlier this year of his decision to retire set off a scramble for the seat among his fellow Democrats.

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