Barry seeks to defend seat against Democratic challenger Schuette

9/1/2020

Councilor John Barry and newcomer Alexis Schuette.

PAWTUCKET – In City Council District 4, newcomer Alexis Schuette is challenging longtime incumbent Councilor John Barry in the Sept. 8 primary, the winner moving on to meet independent Joe Flanagan in the November election.

Schuette, 33, is taking her “preserving Pawtucket” message to the streets with her unique campaign signs. Like other members of the It’s Her Time group, she’s calling for protecting residents from the impacts of new development with strong affordable housing policies.

Barry has said he doesn’t think it’s a great idea to put an extra financial burden on developers looking to come into the city, particularly when rents have proven to rise even without that development in place. He has hailed plans for a new train station and riverfront development as significant positives for the city.

Schuette also previously called for the city to hold off on a police contract until after the community had a chance to comment on policing issues locally and how they fit in with the national landscape, where Barry says such matters should be a larger statewide discussion and he believes local officials have done a good job of rooting out problems with the department.

Schuette has said she would like to be part of new initiatives, including streamlining city services and adding bringing new waste management solutions.

Barry has emphasized that he wants to help continue the progress the city has made on numerous fronts, including development, roads, schools and others.

Meet the candidates

John Barry

Pawtucket City Council District 4

Democrat

Address: 118 Division St., Pawtucket

Age: 71

Resident: Lifelong

Employment: After his retirement as full-time secretary for Catholic charities and social ministry for the Diocese of Providence, he now works in a part-time role

Education: Our Lady of Providence High School; St. Meinrad College

Community activities/public service: He serves on Pawtucket Water Supply Board; member, Pawtucket Police and Fire Pension Board; supporter of the Pawtucket Soup Kitchen

Family: Single

Alexis Schuette

Pawtucket City Council District 4

Democrat

Address: 7 Howard Ave., Pawtucket

Age: 33

Resident: Four years

Employment: Most recently was senior product manager at The Grommet; owner and manager at Ringside Bar LLC; former associate product manager of global eCommerce at Vistaprint, among others

Education: Graduated from Emerson College in 2008; grew up and went to public school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Community activities/public service: Most recently began to serve as the Pawtucket representative to the board of advisers for Envision Lead Grow, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to increasing the rate of entrepreneurship and breaking the cycle of poverty for middle school girls in underserved communities throughout the U.S.

Family: “My immediate family still lives down in the Carolinas,” she says. “I live up here with my ‘roommate’ Ghost (a Maine Coon cat).”