Buddy Cianci - Early Political Career

Early Political Career

In the fall of 1974, Cianci narrowly beat then-mayor Joseph Doorley on an anti-corruption campaign. Also helping Cianci win was a revolt by some Democrats who were upset with Doorley's administration. He was the city's first Italian-American mayor, ending a 150-year "power monopoly" held by Irish Democrats. Cianci was also the youngest man elected to the office at age 33, and the first Republican mayor of Providence since the Great Depression. Cianci was well known as an extremely charismatic and media-savvy politician. His propensity to attend parades, weddings, public events, and backyard neighborhood barbecues led to a common joke during his tenure as mayor that Cianci would jump to attend the opening of an envelope. Cianci was revered by many residents of Providence, and credited with the revitalizing of the city's economy and image.

During his first tenure in office, Cianci and his allies on the Providence City Council clashed with the anti-Cianci majority on almost every issue, the budget being the most heated one. In the mid to late 1970s, Cianci found himself as a rising star in the national Republican Party. After being introduced by Bob Dole, Cianci made an address at the 1976 Republican convention. There was talk of him being the first Italian-American vice president. Cianci was also seriously considered for a federal Cabinet seat in the prospective Gerald Ford administration, had Ford been elected in 1976. After Ford's loss to Jimmy Carter in the presidential election, Cianci tried to sell himself as a Senate candidate, pointing out that if the Republican Party was going to survive in the Northeast, it would have to get more ethnic voters. Cianci clashed behind the scenes with John Chafee, trying to talk him out of his Senate run so Cianci could get the Republican nomination instead. He even ran for governor in 1980, losing out to J. Joseph Garrahy. After this loss, Cianci drifted away from the Republican Party, and by 1982 he had become an Independent.