Providence Journal photo / Kris Craig
GOP Senate candidate Sean Gatley (left) and Democratic School Committeeman Frank Lombardi, take their seat to before Wednesday night's debate at Santa Maria Di Prata Society in Cranston. They are running for the District 26 seat in Cranston.
CRANSTON, R.I. -- State Senate candidate Sean P. Gately Wednesday continued to paint his opponent Frank S. Lombardi as a failed leader during a testy debate at the Santa Maria Di Prata Society.
Gately, a Republican, said Lombardi, the Democratic vice chairman of the School Committee, was part of a growing problem: a school district that faces a $270,000 deficit and a freeze in school spending.
"This madness has to stop," said Gately, who accused Lombardi of taking money from a union representative after contract talks.
Not true, Lombardi countered.
The School Committee in recent years has worked with custodians and other union workers to win contract concessions that have saved the district -- and the city -- millions, he said.
Lombardi said he has worked on six school budgets and helped make millions in cuts. He also said he has done nothing that could be construed as a conflict of interest while on the School Committee.
"Cranston needs a leader, not a naysayer," Lombardi said. "Cranston needs answers, not acrimony."