Putnam Board of Finance chairman enters race for mayor
David Coderre is the first prospective challenger to enter the race after Mayor Barney Seney pulled out of the Republican party in March and announced his plans to run as an unaffiliated candidate for a fifth term.
'I have great respect for Dave and his dedication to public service,' Seney, who has served as mayor since 2017, said in a statement. 'Healthy competition is a cornerstone of our democracy, and I welcome the opportunity to discuss issues that matter most to our community. My focus remains on serving the people of Putnam and continuing the work we've started. I look forward to engaging with voters and sharing my vision for the future!'
Coderre, the president and owner of the military and commercial packaging company Fast Pak, LLC, has sat on the Board of Finance as chairman for the last seven years and previously served on the Board of Selectmen and the Municipal Complex Building Committee.
When Seney left the party, Coderre said it left the Republicans without a candidate.
'I thought that with everything I've done before, and the town where it is right now, that it was a good time for me to throw my hat in the ring and seek the Republican nomination,' Coderre said.
If elected, Coderre said he would be the first mayor 'in a long time' to bring a private sector background to the position.
Coderre said he would approach issues by looking at 'how we run this in the private world, rather than just a world where we turn around and pass along any cost to the taxpayer.
'I ran my own business for 10 years and, as most small business owners will tell you, meeting payroll and making sure the lights stay on are job number one, and I think we forget that when we get into a government sector,' Coderre said. 'I'm the kind of person who would come in with enough experience on how things do run, but an outside perspective to say how can we do it even better, how can we make it a little more efficient and make it a better operating machine for the town.'
As mayor, Coderre said he would like to see the town 'build on the progress we've made and continue to grow as a community.'
'I grew up here … my family's here, all my roots are here and it's a town that I love,' Coderre said. 'The town is in a great place, it's made great strides and I think we're just at a point now where we need that next vision.'
As Coderre heads into the race, he said he is focused on addressing the impact of rising property values on taxpayers, in addition to economic development, beautification, the school budget, aging infrastructure, and facility upgrades for Putnam EMS and the town's police and fire stations.
When it comes to the aging emergency services facilities, Coderre said 'We can't ignore the 800-pound gorilla in the room.'
'I think that sometimes this administration has tried to address things a little bit more of a short-term rather than a long-term solution,' Coderre said. 'We need to do something long term and eventually that's gonna cost some money, but we can't just turn a blind eye to it. … The first step would be putting an exploratory committee together to bring professionals in and see what kind of advice we could get on some of the options that are available to us.'
In 2018, Coderre ran for state senate in the 29th District and lost against Democratic Sen. Mae Flexer. During that race, the Hartford Courant reported that Coderre had been arrested three times in 2011 and once in Rhode Island in 2017 for domestic-related incidents. At the time, the Courant said the arrests, which included charges of disorderly conduct, violating a restraining order and willful trespass, had all been dismissed by a judge or erased upon Coderre's completion of a court-mandated family violence program.
According to a document from the North Kingstown, R.I., Police Department, Coderre was arrested there in May of 2017 on the charge of willful trespass at the property of his ex-wife. In a brief narrative police wrote that a male caller reported that 'he was assaulted at Wilson park,' and that Coderre 'followed him to his home.'
When asked about the arrests, Coderre described the situation as 'water under the bridge.'
'The people of Putnam have elected me multiple times since then. People that know me know who I am,' Coderre said. 'No divorces are fun. … It was an issue, it shouldn't have been an issue, it was made up by a very nasty political opponent.'
Coderre said that he does not anticipate that his history will be an issue this election, adding that 'it has not come up again.'
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