There are many compelling arguments against letting Vincent Cianci, the twice-convicted felon running for mayor of Providence, anywhere near City Hall again. But it is fascinating that one of the strongest...

There are many compelling arguments against letting Vincent Cianci, the twice-convicted felon running for mayor of Providence, anywhere near City Hall again. But it is fascinating that one of the strongest cases against his return has been made by one of his strongest supporters: Cianci himself.

As pointed out in a July 23 Commentary piece by Steven Frias (�Felon mayor�s own words condemn him�), Cianci�s memoir offers illuminating reading on the ex-mayor�s perspective on governance.

On raising property taxes:

��I got very good at raising taxes, but only because I had a lot of practice.� He adds: �[P]eople believe that the last thing a mayor should ever do is raise taxes. That�s completely wrong. The first thing a new mayor should do when he takes office is raise taxes. And then blame it on the previous administration.�

On abuse of power:

�Cianci boasts about using his influence to delay construction of Brown University�s sports center in an effort to get his nephew admitted to Brown. �I used my public power for personal reasons. I admit it. It probably wasn�t the right thing to do, but it certainly felt good.�

On abusing inspections:

��[T]here would be situations in which I told a director [of building inspections] what results I expected.� He writes: �I knew I wasn�t being fair, but so what? This wasn�t supposed to be a fair fight. They were playing on my field and I owned the referees.�

On more abuse:

��I was accused many times of abusing my power, but I admit that at least one time I really did � and maybe I should have gone to jail for this one.� He recounts getting the owner of Loew�s State Theatre to sell by making him an artistic consultant to Providence for $25,000 a year. �Now that is the kind of deal that I should have gone to jail for.�

On squandering taxpayers� money:

During negotiations with a police union leader, Cianci decided to �play pinball and if I won [the police union leader] would never mention Blue Cross again, but if I lost I would give it to them.� Cianci lost. �That�s how the police officers� union got Blue Cross for life.�

On public corruption:

�During my terms in office, the system made corruption easy.� In writing about graft, he adds: �I never sanctioned it, but to claim I didn�t suspect some of it was going on would be silly.� And: �There�s no question that some people I hired were corrupt.� And: �Was there corruption in the city of Providence? Absolutely ...�

On his contempt for voters:

When running against two pro-choice candidates in 1990, though �honestly, I didn�t really have an opinion,� Cianci declared that he was pro-life. �Why not? Was it hypocritical? I prefer to consider it political.� He adds: �I was in a close race and I knew there were a considerable number of pro-life zealots searching for a candidate. � I could stand for anything else; it didn�t matter. Raise taxes forty dollars per thousand? They didn�t care; I was pro-life.�

On creating phony city budgets:

�[T]hat budget was basically a work of fiction.�

On his personal character:

�I admit that I used jobs as currency to get the support I needed, I admit that I used campaign money for everything from a personal helicopter to get around the state to paying for dinners, and on occasion I even used my influence to do favors for people.�

There you have it � in his own words. Does Providence really want to go back there? Would any business leader in his or her right mind want to come to such a place?