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Mayor Dan McKee
Mayor Dan McKee Running for Congress?
Cumberland Mayor Daniel J. McKee said he “certainly never would have run directly against the congressman, but now that that’s open I am taking a look. ... I think there is an opportunity for someone who’s not a status quo thinker.”
Rhode Island looks to expand charter schools
The Race to the Top application highlights McKee’s umbrella organization, the Rhode Island Mayoral Academies, and its hopes to expand in 2011 by contracting with two charter school operators. Achievement First would open a K-12 school serving students in Cranston and Providence, and MATCH Charter Schools would open a grade 6-12 school serving Blackstone Valley and Providence students.
ProJo: McKee wins fourth term as mayor of Cumberland
“I just want to thank the voters, the volunteers, my friends and family who have supported me,” McKee said.
Iwuc accepted his second straight defeat at the hands of McKee with calmness: “The people have spoken. I did my homework. I did my polling. I shook hands. I went to events, but the people came and expressed their opinion in the form of a vote for or against me,” he said.
Yesterday marked the third straight Democratic primary between the two bitter rivals, who first squared off in 2004 when then-Mayor McKee was upset by Iwuc. McKee returned the favor in 2006 by trouncing the incumbent Iwuc in what was said to be the largest voter turnout for a primary in the town’s history.
Cumberland Maverick Wins Big
The polls are closed and the votes are in, Mayor Dan McKee is the big winner in Cumberland with 65% of the vote.
On Tuesday WJAR was reporting low voter turnout throughout the state. The Mayoral race in Cumberland was one of the few key races of interest around the state.
Many felt this election was in some ways a referendum on Incumbent Mayor Daniel McKee’s Mayoral Academies. Although there were many other issues, there is no question this became the central and controversial issue. In the past week the Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals and the National Education Association Rhode Island both came out in support of David Iwuc over this issue.
Opponent David Iwuc himself referred to the Mayoral Academies as “…another misadventure…” and “…the McKee experiment.” last Saturday while reading a prepared statement on WOON 1240 AM radio.
The election results show the so-called experiment has not turned out to be a political misadventure, at least not yet.
Even before Mayor McKee went public with the Mayoral Academy proposal he knew it would likely become a “third rail” issue for his political career.
In June 2008 WPRO-AM talk show host Dan Yorke said,
Going back to December 2007, Superintendent Donna Morelle responded to the Mayoral Academy and was quoted in the ProJo saying
The Campaign
In 2006, after losing to Iwuc in the 2004 race, McKee said to the Providence Journal,
2008 was no different; from the beginning it was clear that Mayor Dan McKee was taking this election very seriously. The campaign quickly setup fundraising events, a website, and he established a campaign headquarters. Weekly press releases were submitted and challenges for a series of debates with his opponent were presented.
His opponent, David Iwuc on the other hand seemed to have a slow start. Other than visable lawn signs, Iwuc was quiet until late August. David Iwuc also never responded to numerous requests for debate by McKee.
70% of Precincts Reporting - McKee Ahead
McKee appears to be the winner!
9:49pm - 9/9/08
MAYOR TOWN OF CUMBERLAND
| Candidate | Total votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel J. McKEE (DEM) | 2855 | 64.4% |
| David S. IWUC (DEM) | 1579 | 35.6% |
Dan Yorke Talking Up Dan McKee on Election Day
Talk show host and Cumberland resident Dan Yorke of WPRO News Talk 630AM and 99.7 FM spent much of his show today (Primary Election Day) talking about the Cumberland Mayoral race.
Dan Yorke made it clear that he supports Mayor Dan McKee and his Mayoral Academy.
Dan Yorke has supported Mayor McKee's Mayoral Academy from it's inception. You can listen to Dan Yorke's interview with May Dan McKee from June 17th 2008 on the WPRO website - Click Here
Accusations fly in mayor's race
Over the weekend, one of Iwuc's campaign volunteers noticed the sister of the incumbent mayor removing plastic bags containing Iwuc campaign literature.
The volunteers were putting the plastic bags on neighborhood mailboxes. Iwuc, outraged, filed a complaint with the police.
Candidate Websites
The Cumberland democrat primary is Tuesday, September 9th, Don't Forget to Vote! Several of the candidates have developed websites, including both mayoral candidates who's race will be decided on Tuesday. CumberlandRI has compiled a list of known campaign websites below, if you are aware of others please let us know!
Mayoral Race:
Mayor Dan McKee - http://mckee2008.org/
David Iwuc - http://www.daveiwuc2008.org/
School Committee:
Ryan Pearson - http://voteryanpearson.com/
Paul DiModica - http://www.savecumberlandschools.com/
What's that SMELL!
State environmental regulators are telling Cumberland officials to take care of a the foul odor emanating from a pumping station in town.
