Buddy backs down

The nation's longest-serving-and by far most controversial-big-city mayor announced he was leaving last week following his conviction on a criminal conspiracy charge that could mean a six-figure fine and as much as a 20-year prison sentence. Providence, R.I. Mayor Vincent (Buddy) Cianci said he would not file for a seventh term and would focus instead on appealing his conviction by a jury that, as ardent Cianci fans point out, acquitted him on 11 other charges, including racketeering.

Republican Gov. Lincoln Almond and Democratic Atty. Gen. Sheldon Whitehouse, both sworn enemies of Republican-turned-Independent Cianci, had previously main-- tained that state statutes require an elected official convicted of a felony to be immediately suspended from office upon sentencing. (Cianci is scheduled to be sentenced September 6.) But there is no law that would have stopped the 61-year-- old Fairfield (Conn.) University graduate from running again while appealing his conviction. Despite the high-profile, months-long trial, a survey conducted by a potential Cianci opponent, reported the Boston Globe, showed the mayor with a whopping 62% job approval rating. The same survey, according to the paper, showed more than 70% of Providence residents saying the city is "headed in the right direction."

One of the most resilient politicians in America, Cianci won a celebrated judgment against the now-defunct New Times magazine in the 1970s after it reported that he had drugged and assaulted a woman while he was a law student. In 1987, Cianci resigned as mayor as part of a plea bargain after he severely beat the lover of his then-wife with a baseball bat and put a pack of lit cigarettes out on the man's face. Three years later, he sought his old job at City Hall as an independent and was triumphantly returned to office.

Mr. Gizzi, political editor of Human Events, welcomes political intelligence from subscribers on campaigns and issues at the local and state leveL Though he cannot reply to all correspondents, we appreciate your contributions. Write: One Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001

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