WARREN — The three candidates hoping to fill the two available positions on the Town Council met for a question-and-answer session in an appropriate setting Monday night, Oct. 7, when Tim White, Derrik Trombley and Louis Rego gathered in the Warren Town Hall Chamber for the event co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters-Rhode Island and The Warren Times-Gazette.

The candidates were asked about a number of issues previously addressed in local media, including in profiles featured in recent issues of The Times-Gazette about the three-for-two race, along with others not broached prior though still pertinent to their campaigns.

The session opened with a question about what impactful legislation they would hope to pass in their initial four-year term.

White said his aim would be to help solve the problem of how to fit affordable housing in a small town such as Warren, saying "You can't just put these in any old farm or any old lot."

Trombley said among his top priorities would be two in transportation, to see the so-called 'Broken Bridge' project, located near Kickemuit Middle School on the Warren Bike Path, completed and to see more progress made on the East Bay Bike Path bridges over the Barrington and Palmer Rivers.

Rego said his focus would be on fiscal responsibility and handling the municipal budget. He said the near-six percent increase in taxes necessitated by the town's recent $8 million legal settlement, was "unheard of" and that those increases were "the No. 1 thing" his fellow residents have talked to him about during the campaign.

On a question of said budget, and each's ability to manage it, Trombley cited his educational and professional backgrounds, including being a lawyer. He also said the town's current fiscal situation was caused by not having the proper protections in place, specifically the situation required catastrophic coverage insurance.

Rego mentioned the town's coffers, saying too much of a fund balance isn't always a good thing. Instead, he suggested the more responsible way was to keep a 10 percent reserve in place.

White said after consultation on the subject with department directors, "I believe there's a better way to allocate the budget to the departments...There are certain things that should be cut and there are certainly things that can be cut."

In their closing statements, Rego said the reason why he is running is "not because I'm mad, but I am disappointed in the way town is being run." He fiscal responsibility and maintaining infrastructure were integral to his platform. He also expressed his desire to have the town's General Assembly contingent put more emphasis on fixing the ills associated with Route 136.

Trombley's final remarks centered on his life-long residency and devotion to the town. He said it's his belief Warren now more than in recent memory, "needs to have the perspective of an attorney," especially during the current financial crisis largely caused by largely by litigation.

White stressed his commitment to avoiding budget cuts while finding what he termed "alternative funding sources." He said residents cannot continue to make up deficits "with higher and higher property taxes every year." He noted small towns have the same needs as larger ones, but with a lesser pool of resources, which is the reason why "fiscal responsibility is so important." Going forward, he added, Warren needs to spend and cut "wisely."

— Editor's Note: Mike Rego, the new editor of the Warren Times-Gazette, is in no way related to any of the candidates, nor anyone directly with the same surname in the towns of Warren and Bristol.