Will he or won�t he? This is a distraction and simply the wrong question for us to be asking ourselves. At a time when Providence needs to be looking forward, too much time is being spent looking in our...

Will he or won�t he? This is a distraction and simply the wrong question for us to be asking ourselves. At a time when Providence needs to be looking forward, too much time is being spent looking in our rear view mirror. Instead of wasting time debating whether or not Buddy will once again throw his hat in the mayoral ring, we should be focusing on how to move our city forward.

What we need to be asking is �Will we, or won�t we?�

Will we insist on a different way of getting things done in Providence? Will we finally erase the cloud of corruption that hangs over our city? Will we abandon the old boys network that�s dominated our city for too long? Will we leap forward, honoring the best of our history and engaging the people and the assets that can help us take that leap instead of relying on the people who keep us tethered to the past?

We must insist on an open and honest city hall that will encourage the best and the brightest to come here, stay here and continue building a culture of innovation. Let us permanently open the front door of our beautiful city hall and have people walk in and know that the first door on the right is that of a mayor who will insist on extraordinary service, no matter who you are or whose campaign you supported.

We must insist on schools where students have a chance to be successful every day. We need to empower our teachers so that they can work with their students the way they know best. We need to increase resources like the YMCA and City Year in the classroom so that teachers can teach and students can learn and thrive. And we need to invest in the community organizations that provide a lifeline for youth in the after-school hours.

We must invest more heavily, more creatively, and more effectively in arts, music, sports and other forms of recreation in our neighborhoods. Such investments help to build community relationships and improve public safety. They help to change the view of our young people who now see a narrow band of bad choices to a view of a wide world of opportunity and a broad spectrum of good choices. And they help all of our children develop and grow into the good citizens of tomorrow.

And to accomplish these things, we must invest aggressively in entrepreneurship. This will produce a vibrant and diversified economy where anyone who has an idea, an ambition and a willingness to work hard will have access to resources that give him/her a chance of success. It will bring even more creative people to our city, and it will inspire them to stay. Such an economy will produce more tax revenue and the resources we need to invest in schools, public safety, the arts and recreation for all.

Will we shout a final no to a culture of corruption that discourages investment and undermines progress? Will we choose accountability over the same old, same old? Will we or won�t we insist on moving forward rather than slipping back or standing still?

Let�s focus on the questions and the vision that will bring us together. Let�s take this city we love from where we had been to where we are meant to be. And let�s stop wasting our time on debating �will he or won�t he.� Let�s move on!

Lorne Adrain is a Democratic candidate for mayor of Providence.