Teachers picket Elorza campaign kickoff

PROVIDENCE — About 150 teachers protested outside the Roger Williams Park Casino where Mayor Jorge Elorza kicked off his reelection campaign Sunday afternoon.

Inside, after local salsa musician Orlando Vanterpool performed with his band, Elorza gave a speech to about 200 supporters, touting his accomplishments of the past four years and firing up supporters about what another term could bring.

“I am truly in awe of what we have accomplished together,” he said. “Of what we have done to improve the lives of Providence residents. I’m overwhelmed with excitement thinking of the possibilities of the work that can still be done and how we can continue to grow and be a model city for others across the United States.”

Outside, Providence Teachers Union President Maribeth Calabro, said union members were gathered to protest their lack of a contract, which expired Aug. 31. Negotiations stalled in January because the union is pressing for pay raises, which the city has said it can’t afford, Calabro said.

“Mayor Elorza has spent the past 120 days ignoring Providence teachers,” she said. “And we are done listening to his kicking the can down the road saying, 'We’re going to negotiate, we’re going to negotiate.'”

Earlier, demonstrators booed and shouted “Shame on you” as Elorza walked from his car to the casino.

Elorza did not address the demonstration or the complaints of the teachers union during his speech. Instead, he focused on the achievements of his first term, including increasing paid internship opportunities and summer jobs for the city’s youth, reducing violent crime, rehabbing hundreds of abandoned properties and creating an affordable child care program for families.

He said that investing in children is and will continue to be one of his top priorities, including fixing the city’s crumbling school infrastructure by committing $400 million over the next few years to repair school buildings, “so that our kids are learning in places that inspire them to achieve.”

This week, Providence is expected to host more than 75,000 visitors for PVDFest, an arts and culture festival started by the mayor during his first year in office. Elorza touted the annual event as a symbol of Providence’s diverse and inclusive nature and an antidote to the divisive atmosphere of the country.

“When there’s so much anger, there’s so much nastiness ... in the world today, what a representation of our city,” he said. “We unite and we come together. We celebrate the arts, we celebrate music, culture, food. But above all, we celebrate each other.”

After his speech, when asked by reporters what he thought of the teachers’ demands to negotiate a new contract, Elorza said, “There will be a time to get to all of that. My focus today is the reelection campaign.”

Some officials who planned to attend the event Sunday did not enter the casino because they did not want to cross the picket line, and Elorza said he understood.

When asked if he thought he could still win the teachers’ support before the election, he said, “We’ll see. Crazier things have happened. It’s all about continuing to talk and, on a basic human level, treating each other with respect.”

The teachers union, which has demonstrated at other Elorza functions, including at his State of the City address, has not thrown its support behind any candidate yet, Calabro said.

Kobi Dennis, the founder of Project Night Vision, a free after-school program for children, Robert DeRobbio, a former educator, and Chris Young, a four-time mayoral candidate, are also running for mayor.