I was hoping to see Mellor & Silva as confirmed....Other than Mr. Mellor working at my awesome local food market...and a letter I saw posted from Mr. Silva some time ago that I totally disagreed with I really have no clue where they stand on the issues facing our town.

Please make sure someone sets up the questions for Mr.Mellor. Even tho you are putting on the forum you should get a set of questions they will ask him so someone can read his answer.

Mr. Mellor is OVER qualified for the seat! He serves as the Vice Chairmen of the Warren Democratic Committee and a life long resident of Warren. A true Warrenight, will fight for the people of this town. He will help businesses prosper in these tough times. If you give a tax break for 1 business you have to give a tax break for all! Mr. Mellor will do this. Mr. Mellor is committed to this position.

Brian will help every single Warren Resident in the town. He will fight for the right issues! This year in 2012 it is TIME to see NEW faces and FRESH ideas! I hope that every single resident votes for Mr. Mellor. It is time for a new councilmen to get on the Warren Town Council! Brian R. Mellor SR. is the RIGHT CHOICE FOR WARREN!

Why bother at all to have this forum. The only people that will be taking questions are our current council and Joe, who served two years ago. To make the meeting mean anything we would need the two new members there. Maybe it should be rescheduled.

It should be rescheduled! How rude is that? Whats the point of having it marina?In Bristol there are many town council canidates where in warren there are 3. Reschedule this forum! Either that or write down the questions being asked so Mr. Mellor can respond to them at a later date.Either that or I will go and record all questions and Mr.Mellor can and will respond back!

Other than that this forum will be a waste of peoples time!

Wow joe, you must be Mellor's campaign manager huh? Why should he be given special preference when he had the same opportunity as the others? I think it is very rude of you to deride a forum for canidates, just because your canidate saw fit to not respond in a timely mannor and the others did.

If he could not find the time since Sept 12 to respond he is the rude one. Give him the questions!! What makes him so special? No canidate even the Presidential debate canidates did not get the question before it. That would be pointless to have a forum like that. Perhaps Mellor hould look up the definition of public forum as well as you joe, before you start deriding the messenger. I am sure Marina put a lot of time and work into this as she does on all these endeavors.

He who does not speak out is not heard. So I guess Mellor does not want to be heard.

Had the candidates responded by the September 12th date it could have been rescheduled !...They didn't...it took follow up emails & phone calls to get their response. Is it possible that they just don't want to do it ? That's what I am thinking. Mellor didn't respond until October 1st...and from what I can tell Mr. Silva hasn't even responded ?...The East Bay newspapers usually ask the candidates questions & post it in the paper...I have seen it for the Barrington town council & school committee members but not Warren. I refuse to vote for someone with name recognition only or by how many signs they have in peoples yard or businesses.

let me just state that it was not my intention to sound rude. I am just saying this. All members at the forum have served on the town council. We know them. We know there issues. Joe has served on the council before. There is only 2 candidates that we don't know. Mr. Mellor was asked and he was told he couldn't be there.

Not all town council candidates will be at the October 18 forum. I will not be there because I was not invited. I never received an email or a telephone call regarding the candidate forum. I did get a call from the town clerks office asking me for my email address for someone looking to contact me. I gave it and never heard anything after that call. There are other candidates that did not receive an email but they got a follow-up telephone call. My thought is that I may have been overlooked because of the Patch letter I wrote last February, regarding the water authority. To the voters of Warren I can be contacted via email (silvar12@cox.net) and will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. I am retired and have the time to fulfill the duties required of a councilperson. The difference with me is I will work for the entire town of Warren, not just the west side of the bike path. I am a former member of the Warren Zoning Board and a present member of the Planning Board. Everyone may not agree with my thoughts or decisions but they are made with the best interest of Warren in mind.

Brian M
My concern is that your friend Joe (I am assuming that) would want questions given to you rather than from the voters. It is disconcerting also to here Marina state “September 12th at the BCWA meeting and he told me he did not like the idea of questions from the audience and would not attend”.

I find that upsetting in this day and age of politicians thinking they know better than the voters what’s good for them. It also shows that your friend Joe is doing you no favors it seems to me with statements he made above like you should somehow be treated differently than everyone else in my opinion. That is basically my point. Other than that I think this is silly to argue this as you are not going to be there anyway which makes you moot as far as this forum goes. Rules are rules.

From: Bm649@aol.com
To: rivc1@cox.net
Sent: Monday, October 01, 2012 5:50 PM
Subject: Re: Fw: Invitation - RIVC Candidate Forum Warren Town Council, October 18, 2012

Marina, I'll be out of town on the 18th, but will try my best to make the forum as I'll be coming back from Maine. If you would like a statement on why I'm running one would be forward before the 18th. If you have any questions feel free to email them. Thanks Brian
This is the email sent to Marina, where is the statement that I would not attend. End of this discussion, if everything goes ok I'll try to be there.

Kelly I was unaware of the way this would be set up.
I never said this was a bad idea
I only said why have a forum for 5 members all 5 people who currently serve on the town Council.
I am not a campaign manager.
I am a friend who does support Mr. Mellor for town council.

Brian will help every single Warren Resident in the town. He will fight for the right issues! This year in 2012 it is TIME to see NEW faces and FRESH ideas! I hope that every single resident votes for Mr. Mellor. It is time for a new councilmen to get on the Warren Town Council! Brian R. Mellor SR. is the RIGHT CHOICE FOR WARREN!

I would like to make something perfectly clear here. I do not live in Warren. I have no vested interest in who gets elected to Town Council in Warren. This is not even about the candidates! I do this because I feel it is important to engage the electorate and help them to feel that they are part of the electoral process. Other debates/forums have "canned questions". And who writes these questions? Other politicians? Media? Academia? The questions should come from the people who are going to be choosing a candidate! If you are a candidate it is probably in your best interest to participate and demonstrate to your future constituents that you care about their concerns!

One quick note, I have lived in Warren for thirty five years (20 years previously in Bristol and in Warren before that) and my number is in the book. I am known quite well at the town hall and around town. I will not be attending when I can see I see I was left out. And by the way you called me approximately mid August and left me a message, I returned your call and you didn't know why you called me. You took my email address and said you had something to send me. I guess you miss placed the telephone number or just dropped the ball on this one as some of us do from time to time. Good luck with your forum.

Marina, here's an idea. Be a true mediator, and say, due to miscommunication (mea culpa), the forum will be rescheduled and re-invite all the candidates personally, and on Patch. Those who do not show up for petty reasons are just that, petty. Those who can make the new date show up. This clears your name and theirs, because at this point, you say you have no stake and invited everyone for the greater good of Warren, and the candidates who posted here are calling your bluff, so it's hard for some of us to believe either side. Three sides to a story, right?? Start fresh or call it off. Otherwise, I'm more likely to side with them.

Great Marina, I also love when someone does make a mistake they try to correct it. Good for you Richard.

I have one thing to clear up and I am done with this. When I said I received her email that was the email she sent me today.

Marina, I truly felt I was left out because of my last letter about the town council and the BCWA. I've come to see you are working this alone and it must frustrating when things go awry. You do deserve accolades for pulling this together. As for the Tea Party, I could care less what affiliation you are.

Sorry Marina for insinuating you are a member of The Tea Party, and I don't personally care if you are, but If you do not belong, then I suggest you have your name removed from their database because it gives the perception you do, especially when you go to the website- http://www.teapartypatriots.org/groups/east-bay-patriots/members/,( which is the site of "A Freedom Loving Tea Party Group Dedicated To Rhode Island’s East Bay") you are listed as a member and the website- http://eastbaypatriots.ning.com/profile/marinapeterson?xg_source=profiles_memberList, is a direct link to your member profile on the "East Bay Patriots of RI-An Independent Tea Party Group" website.
But thank you for hosting the forum. But honestly, it shouldn't be your job as an "out of towner" to schedule these things, moderate, yes, but schedule, no. If the candidates are confident in their abilities, and firm in their beliefs, this should be something they should be asking for, not waiting around until it comes to them. And what's sadder, is that some voters don't bother to find out, but they vote candidates in, despite not knowing their stance on issues, because they are already in office (so they must be doing the job), they see a name on a sign, the candidate is a friend of a friend, or because someone took the time to knock on their door and smile. It's time the facts come out, but will the voters be there??

I know your comment was not directed to me but i want to thank you for the explanation between the Tea Party and the Patriots. I alway thought they were the same.

I must apologize for my audible gasp last night at the Candidate forum in Warren. Mr. Stanley was asked a question... regarding BCWA and what has transpired, does he regret saying that the critics were on a witch hunt. Mr. Stanley replied that he did NOT regret it and that 's exactly what it was... a witch hunt to destroy one man. As one of the "East Bay Four", I was astounded by that response. What about the fact that the East Providence was NOT complete and ready to go? What about the fact that there had been NO flushing of the pipes for the last six years as a budget cut?. resulting in tuberculated pipes and poor water pressure? What about the fact that there was no strategic plan, or no procedural manuals? I could go on and on... not enough room. I was shocked and disappointed with that response and reacted automatically, forgetting my position at the forum.

Glad you apologized for that. Also you started that the two candidates who were not there opted out of not coming. Most moderators would have stated "Unfortunately the other two candidates were UN able to make itdue to prior commitments but both wished to be here"

Wow, this was all quite a read! Marina, I think its kind of funny that you had an audible gasp at the forum. The whole BCWA thing was not a witch hunt, seriously Stanley? It was a whole bunch of issues in which the BCWA was not running efficiently, and it was managed poorly. Employees using BCWA vehicles to go home for lunch, at least the worker in my neighborhood would. In the top 3 highest rates for water besides block island and Narraganset I believe. Why should we pay so much? Seems a bit, controversial doesn't it?

Regarding all of the comments above, I honestly am not sure Mellor is mature enough for this job. He began by defending himself and seemed like a possibly good candidate, but then it just got kind of pathetic. Especially with his campaign manager championing his guy! If you could not attend, then fine, but it sounds like there was a lack of communication. Your typing above is sloppy, and practically incoherent, which is disappointing, as I'd expect an elected official to be Professional.
I think Silva responded better, but I found it immature to keep saying, I was purposely excluded, and will not attend because of being ostracized. Come on, if you really wanted to fight for yourself, and have people hear your views, you would have gone. To not go because you felt uninvited, even though you were, is immature and unprofessional.

Both of these candidates have lost credibility, at least in my eyes, simply from this forum! Be professional!!!!!!

Lastly, its ironic that Mellor has stated he dislikes having people answer him questions on the fly, as he likely will stammer when trying to answer, and will say something dumb. Then is appearantly in Maine and can't come back early to participate. If your going to run for office, you should make every attempt to be present at events such as this, to give confidence to the voters, instead, you and Silva were not present, and will simply be forgotten. Joe gets a lot of smack, but at least he is there, and I do see the guy move stuff off the road, which to his credit, is much appreciated!

I honestly like most of the Incumbents, except Tatrie and Stanley. Stanley is upsetting to me because of what I learned about his comments on the BCWA situation. If you have a view like that on such a massive issue in WARREN, then how on earth are you going to help the town?
Are we going to get some councilors who will actually help the town? Why was the American Tourister given such a hard time to turn it into condo's and add two stories? That would have looked amazing, add a boardwalk like Fall River along the water, and that area would be beautiful and nearing completion. Instead its still a half empty old mill, slowly falling into disrepair. I will Vote for the people I believe will give some NEW DEVELOPMENT a chance!

Good luck to everyone, and we will see what happens November 6th!

Article in Warren Times-Gazzette re Warren council prez Stanley won’t back down on BCWA ‘witch hunt’ statement . Here is the link:
www.eastbayri.com/news/warren-council-prez-stanley-wont-back-down-on-bcwa-witch-hunt-statement/#comment-384

Voters need to comment on how they feel on this issue. It is election time and you need to decide who represents you and your town.

Let me state this. I am not affiliated with Mr. Mellor in ANY WAY! Not his campaign manager. I was unaware of the situation because the way I was told how it would be would be submitted questions. I had no idea it was just straight forward as that. It has been stated before.

As far as Mr. Stanley calling it a witch hunt is absolutely correct! I agree with him 100%. They are the East Bay 4 looking to start trouble and get people in trouble. They don't care they cause aggravation to them it is a pleasure. They think they are the Fantastic Four but in Reality they are just like Aqua Man. The Justice League's last option of hope.... Marina in my mind acted rude as the moderator. Thank's for putting it on it went awesome but councilors and residents and Candidates did not understand the RIVC rules. When Joey D asked if he could follow up on the question that was ORIGINALLY ASKED FOR HIM she replied with a rude NO and got some chuckles from the crowd.

But once again it is my opinion and CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM!

Am I elated that I save emails. Marina, the creditbility of you and your organization are going down the tubes. You did not send me an email invitation to the forum as you did the other candidates. You wrote on Patch that I did not respond. I soon responded and told you that I did not receive an invitation. On October 9, after you and several of your friends belittled me in this blog, as you all they have in the past, you decided to send me the invitation. In less than a half hour I replied to your email and I quote
“At this point I have another commitment that I am trying to change.  If I am able to change it I will let you know.  Thank You”
Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive. I promise you I will never participate in any type of forum you have anything to do with and if this organization is ligitimate they should distance themselves from you. So for all you people that think Marina is the best thing that's happened to this town think twice. If you would like to have a copy of the October 9 email, send me your email address and you can see for yourself.

Richard, I sent you all the copies of the email communications that were sent to you. I don't know what your email situation is and I suggested to you that sometimes when a link to a website was included messages get caught up in SPAM. You seemed to be under the impression at the time that I deliberately left you out.... and I don't even know who you are! Why would I leave you out? I went to the Warren Town Hall. I asked for the contact information of the candidates that were running. I then sent out the invitations. If I had your phone number I would have followed up with a phone call, but I did not have it. We have been through this before.
I understand that you are probably disappointed that you couldn't change your other commitment and attend... but it was YOUR choice. If you felt it was important, I am sure you would have attended. I even brought a bottle of water for you :-)

“Joe Burns” (clever) confirms that it is commonly understood that Warren Town Council President Christopher Stanley was speaking of the East Bay Four when Mr. Stanley gave publication to his defamatory statements. Can’t hide behind “opinion” or “constructive criticism” on this. And it’s on the record.

Richard Silva (oh, the drama) admits Marina sent him an invitation. Apparently it wasn’t properly engraved nor hand delivered to His Highness (who is this guy?) on just the right silver platter.

Marina posted about this forum since last July. Mr. Silva could have “penciled it in” if he really wanted to be there so badly. Maybe he tripped over his ego & dropped his pencil.

In a July article, Marina commented about a candidates’ forum:

http://bristol-warren.patch.com/blog_posts/candidates-for-warren-town-council-who-do-you-like

Richard Silva posted a comment to it on July 18. Methinks Mr. Silva doth protest too much about tangled webs and all that jazz.

If Marina’s work is not good enough for Richard Silva, he can put on a play in the barn all by himself.

Marina – thanks for all you do! You won’t have to worry about catering to 1 prima donna who promised to never again grace your stage with his infamous (who is this guy?) self.

BrianM-too funny. More drama. His “last post on Patch” comes 10 minutes prior to his next post on Patch.

Warren politics. What’s the old saying? There must be somethin’ in the water.

Brian, You are mistaken. I NEVER said that no one would know who asked the question! I explained to you that the person would be standing at a microphone looking the candidate right in the eye when they asked the question. That was the whole purpose of this format. To get the voters engaged in the electoral process and invite them to communicate directly with their candidates. All of the last 43 forums have been like that since we started in 2009. You told me that you were nervous that someone would ask an inappropriate question and I responded that I had never had that happen in four years, and didn't think it would be likely since they would be standing right in front of you. I think you must have this mixed up with another forum. I know that the League of Women voters takes written questions from folks. Maybe that's what is confusing you.

Mr Stanley's comments about BCWA public outcry being a witch hunt ignores the facts.

Fact: Under a new Board and new Executive Director, the Kickemuit raw water supply has been shut down as of June 2012.

Fact: The Kickemuit raw water supply was being polluted from 41 storm water culverts that channeled farm runoff directly into the Kickemuit. You can drive down Serpentine Road and see some of these DOT installed storm water "under the road" culverts yourself.

Fact: The Kickemuit had up-steam septic system overflow problems from the Smoke Rise Housing development

http://envstudies.brown.edu/oldsite/Web/special%20reports/Classes/Es192/2002/WebReports/Kickemuit_final.pdf

Fact: BCWA had stopped their pipeline flushing program due to the costs.

Fact: In 1993, a water borne illness resulted in many deaths from a Milwaukee cryptosporidium outbreak in their water purification system similar to the BCWA environment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_Milwaukee_Cryptosporidiosis_outbreak

Fact: Warren residents bore the brunt of the highest concentration of Kickemuit processed water.

Fact: BCWA itself knew that the cost to process the polluted water from the Kickemuit was higher than simply purchasing water from the Scituate Reservoir

It's hard to imagine anyone actually endorsing this as good public policy for the residents of Warren. This was the main reason for the public outcry. It was not a "witch hunt"

Marina, when is this being shown on Public Access ? and I was wondering if you knew where the other two candidates who did not attend stood on the EBEC ?

There is an article covering the Warren Town Hall Candidate Forum online at
http://www.eastbayri.com/news/warren-council-candidates-make-their-pitch/

Great article in the East Bay Newspaper Marina...too bad I still don't know anything about the other two candidates other than the comments I see here on Patch...which unfortunately hasn't given me the best impression....I would love to see where they stand on the issues addressed at the forum.

As I understand it the East Bay Patriots is a group under the Tea Party that represents the east bay area of Rhode Island. Several of the same names I see on Patch, spreading their words of wisdom, are huge blog and forum contributors/members to the Tea Party, East Bay Patriots and the RI Voter Coalition. Does everyone see the connection here? The link below is for the East Bay Patriots web site forum. Read the second entry where a member from Rhode Island suggests hiring a prostitute to bring down a senator from Montana. Is this the group we should listen to that will take us to honest government. If the link is down before you get to read this let me know I have a screen print and willing to send it to you.

http://eastbaypatriots.ning.com/forum/topics/i-need-help-from-someone

What will you do if you are elected, Mr. Silva?

For me...it's important to see the candidates reach out to all parties and iffiliations. Whether it's Democrat or Republican, Cool Moose or Moderate, or even Tea Party. You will be representing all the people. Not just who you like or don't like. If I told you Mr. Silva or Mr. Mellor that I was a member of the East Bay Patriots or Tea Party do they not care about my vote ? If I were to open a business in town or already had one would I be looked at differently by you when the council has to vote on something for my business ? From what I can gather from the comments made here it absolutely seems that way. I certainly hope I am mistaken. Correct me if I am wrong...

Richard, I think the issue with your comments on the BCWA was that you submitted your comments as an officer of the Democrat party. I think that was the issue that your fellow Democrats took issue with. I am certainly a great proponent of people sharing their views, whether it be online or in a letter to the editor. And I give you kudos for using your own name! Many are afraid to stand behind what they say.
Posting your views here is a great idea!

I look forward to hearing your views Mr. Silva. To me...it really doesn't matter who is asking the questions...all I care about is the answer.

I was not able to participate in the recent candidate forum which was held on October 18 due to a prior commitment. As a result, my absence did not give the people of Warren the opportunity to hear my position on the issues and more importantly I did not get to hear your concerns. I am disabled so my door to door walks have been limited. My involvement in politics has always been as a worker for the candidates and never for myself. After serving on the Warren Zoning Board and presently the Planning Board I felt it was time to serve the town in a different manner and chose the Town Council. I am a former operations manager in the financial business and a Six Sigma black belt (a methodology for improving quality by reducing process defects).
My position/ideas:
Do a lean assessment on all town departments to determine if they are working in the most efficient manner, not necessarily to eliminate staff but to determine if processes are duplicated among departments. Does a process belong where it is?
As for the EBEC, I am in favor of the wind energy concept but not at a cost to the taxpayer. Private alternatives are available and should be investigated.
The comprehensive plan is a good document to have as direction but some sections in the draft needs to be debated.

Con't

Con't
As for the American Tourister building, we lost a great opportunity to have it developed when Meredith Management withdrew. Owners of large manufacturing buildings, that would like to subdivide to allow smaller business to lease space need quick approval. Potential occupants cannot and will not wait several months for town approval. During that time, they are exploring options in other towns/cities.
New business must be brought into town and with ease obtaining the necessary approval permits and licenses. Currently, required approvals are spread out among more than one department. This is where the lean assessment would determine if these could be brought under department.
We need to revise the zoning ordinances so that they reflect a business friendly attitude.
Appointments: Warren does not have documented qualifications that is needed for each appointed position. How can we appoint on qualifications only if we do not know what they are.. We also need to look at experience in personal life, as a member or previous member of a board and/or time spent as an alternate member.
These are a few of the issues that concern me and I invite you to send me any questions or concerns to my email address silvar12@cox.net.

Brian, I did some research and want to clear the record on our communications. I e-mailed you the first invitation on 9/13. Follow-up email on 9/24. On October 1st I was preparing the blog post for the Patch, and because I had your phone number I called you to to tell you I was submitting the post and wanted to know if you were coming to the forum. When we spoke you told me you did not receive the email, but you did not confirm at that time. I sent the blog in to the Patch the morning of 10/1. It was published on 10/2. (There is a time delay on initial blog posts.) I heard from you by email at 5:50 on the 1st, saying that you would be out of town on the 18th. You stated you would try your best to be there, but did not confirm. I would like you to understand that I called you BEFORE I submitted the post to make sure that you had the opportunity to confirm. We deal with a great many forums and have a procedure. Initial email, follow-up email, follow-up phone call if we have the phone number. With 39 towns, that is the best that we can do.

Thank you Richard !
From the article I read in the times regarding Blount wanting to expand in Warren it looks like they were already exploring other options..in Bristol. Sure hope the process doesn't scare them away as well...

The forum for the Warren Candidates for Town Council is now online at
https://vimeo.com/52151283

Full Channel and Cox times will be posted later today.

Full Channel will broadcast Warren Forum at 3:00pm Friday, October 26th and 8:00am Thursday, November 1st.

Still waiting to hear from Cox Cable.

Also available on line at https://vimeo.com/52151283

Where's Marina. She seems to be missing. Come on Marina no words of wisdom?