I’m running to represent Ward 1 as a Democrat on the Cranston City Council, and before you decide whether to vote for me, I want you to know who I am and why I’m running.

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I’m new to Cranston, but I’ve spent nearly every day since I arrived working to help better our city and state. I volunteer with the Rhode Island Working Families Party, advocating for affordable childcare, a better public transit system, and fair tax laws. I joined the Cranston Forward Electoral Committee which works to enable healthy participation in local democracy. And in an effort to learn everything I could about how our local government really works, I started an organization called the Rhody Civics Club. At Rhody Civics Club we bring together everyday Rhode Islanders with subject matter experts to learn how we can make direct change in areas as diverse as education, housing, and transit. Participants learn the steps to take meaningful action in their government like how to give testimony at a city council meeting or even how to run for office. We learn, we make friends, and we leave empowered to participate in a government that isn’t always designed to welcome newcomers and those not already in the know. 

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So here is why I’m running this year. I had exchanged emails with our current councilwoman about the future of our ward, fully expecting to support her. Then our conversations tapered off. In the final hours of the last day of the declaration period, the last opportunity anyone has to file to run for office, I saw that the seat was likely to be handed to a friend of hers instead of put before the voters. Our councilwoman withdrew her candidacy 8 minutes before the filing deadline. That was the moment I decided to do the very thing I had spent so much effort urging other people to do: stop waiting for permission, and run for office myself to make the change I wanted to see in my own community.

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That moment mattered to me for reasons bigger than one council seat. A lot of Americans have lost faith in democracy lately. They’ve decided their vote doesn’t count and that the real decisions get made somewhere they’ll never see behind closed doors. Many people don’t believe the government can help them. I understand why. If we want people to believe elections matter, our elections have to give them a real choice. They shouldn’t be settled quietly, with seats passed from friend to friend, and the basic facts about how to even run for office out of reach to most people. Running for city council so far has been an education. It convinced me there is a lot we could do to make our local elections more open and more competitive, so that more of the capable, civic-minded people in this ward get drawn into local government instead of left on the outside. That is one of the main reasons I’m running. We need to invite more people into the decision-making process, instead of making it so hard for them to pay attention in the first place.

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So who am I, this nerdy newcomer who loves to read a city comprehensive plan cover to cover? Well, I’m the product of my loving, curious, and conscientious family.

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My grandfather taught me to ask questions and listen to the answers. My favorite game when I was four was “why?” I’d corner my grandfather, an MIT-educated engineer, and ask why, and why, and why, until he was finally stumped. That habit of asking why until something actually makes sense never left me.

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My dad raised me to stand up for what’s right, even when it takes guts. When my second-grade teacher was being unkind to my classmates, my dad sat next to me while I wrote a letter to the principal about it. Then, with his encouragement, I marched into the front office and handed it over myself. That teacher didn’t come back the next year. I learned something then that I’ve held onto ever since: anyone can speak up and make change, if they’re willing to take a risk and start a conversation. 

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My mother and grandmother showed me how to care about people, even when it’s hard. My grandmother, a leader in her church, brought me along during her visits to homeless community members and was an early model for me of how to put empathy into action. My mother, an emergency room nurse, taught me to be cool under pressure and always run toward the problem, not away. My family showed me that when someone around you needs help, you don’t wait to be asked. You step in. I carry my family’s legacy into my current profession as a mental health counselor. My job is to listen, care, and help. And that’s the kind of councilperson I want to be. One who shows up, listens before deciding, and remembers that every line in a budget is attached to a real person.

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Right now those budget lines are hitting a lot of people, and it worries me. Cranston is in a real financial emergency. The deficit is over $10 million for the current budget year, and almost the whole conversation at City Hall has been about what to cut: our schools, our senior center, the services families rely on. Very little of it has been about the two things I care about most: evidence and results. 

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We need to be honest about how we got here in the first place and not flinch from examining the evidence. We used one-time federal dollars to cover recurring costs, with no future plan. We did not responsibly manage taxes, leading to a sudden and unfair increased tax burden on Cranstonians. We missed the easy stuff too, like basic deadlines, creating a crisis with no time to make careful choices. 

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And what about achieving results? That’s harder. That’s the creative job of actually growing the city’s revenue. We cannot cut our way to a city we’re proud of, we need to do our homework and make informed choices. I want to do the work, and the fact that it’s unglamorous doesn’t scare me at all.

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Luckily, Ward 1 is already full of people who know this work. As I knock on doors and talk with neighbors, I’m meeting so many experts who live right here: the lawyers, doctors, nurses, accountants, engineers, teachers, planners, parents, small business owners, and others whose knowledge our city government almost never taps. If you elect me, I will bring your expertise into the conversation, so all our untapped talent (and often unheard voices) can help grow our city. As councilperson I will represent you, listen to you, consult with you, and amplify your voice at City Hall. 

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I love Cranston because it has all the pieces needed for a wonderful community: beautiful neighborhoods, real history, thriving small businesses, charming village centers, and good, generous people. What it lacks is a clear and prudent vision for a financially secure future. We need strong schools, homes that working families can afford so our diversity of neighborhoods continues to stay lively, streets that are safe and easy to walk and bike, transit that brings us together east to west, and a budget steady enough to grow our community in a measured, reasoned way. 

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I love this place and I’ll put in the work Ward 1 deserves: the reading, the listening, and the showing up. I’d be honored to earn your vote in the Democratic primary election for Cranston City Council on or before September 9th.

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With gratitude,

 

Avery Mangahas

Democrat for Cranston City Council  ·  Ward 1