Ward 1 City Councilman David Segal is looking to move from City Hall to the State House this fall, announcing Friday night he will run for District 2 state representative.
Segal was joined downtown at Trinity Brewhouse by current District 2 Rep. Paul Moura, a 22-year House veteran who has moved out of the district and cannot run again. Segal said Moura asked him several months ago to consider running for his seat.
"I want to say that I will accept your offer and that I will run for your seat, District 2, General Assembly," Segal said.
Segal's mother, Andrea Leonard-Segal, came to the event from her home in Maryland.
"This is probably the best Mother's Day gift I've ever had," she said. "I am so proud to be his mother."
Segal was elected to the Providence City Council in 2002 as a member of the Green Party, but he said he has not decided if he will run for the House as a Democrat.
"I'm going to figure that out in the next few weeks," he told The Herald. "I think parties are a means to an end of actual, concrete political change and policy revision. My goal is to do the most good that I can and I will do whatever I can to further the policy goals I believe in."
Moura, a Democrat, said he hopes Segal will run as a Democrat.
"It's important to me that he run as a Democrat," Moura said. "I want him to run as a Democrat, but I don't want him to abandon the principles he's had as a Green Party member."
Segal has been a prominent figure in support of progressive politics in Providence, strongly backing the First Source ordinance, renewable energy and the city's divestment from Sudan over the genocide in Darfur. Providence became the first city in America to divest from companies linked to Sudan this spring, following the University's move to do so.
But, he said, in his single term he has "also gained a stark understanding of things we cannot do working alone."
He cited tax code reforms, equitable distribution of school funds and electoral reform as important issues that can be best addressed at the General Assembly.
"I've advocated for all these things while I've been on the council, but I can do it in a much more concrete way in the assembly," Segal said. "If you do it up there, you affect six times as many people."
District 2 includes Fox Point, Downcity and part of East Providence. Segal currently represents Ward 1, which includes Fox Point, Wayland and part of College Hill, including Brown's campus south of Waterman Street. The University is located in District 3, and students who register to vote with their campus mailing address will not be able to vote in District 2.
Segal, a 2001 graduate of Columbia University, was the youngest person ever elected to the City Council in 2002, when he narrowly won a four-way race for the Ward 1 seat with 38 percent of the vote. That victory was attributed in part to Brown students' votes, but four years later the situation is different, said Peter Asen '04, Segal's campaign treasurer.
"David has really, over the course of four years, proven himself to the people of Fox Point, of Wayland, of College Hill, even some people Downcity who he doesn't represent," Asen told The Herald. "By now, he's a known commodity."
Asen said the campaign will firm up its staffing in the next few weeks and will focus on introducing Segal to the areas of District 2 that are not in Ward 1.
"David has come to Providence and taken it by storm. Now he's going to take the Independent Man by storm," Asen told the crowd, referring to the statue atop the State House dome.
There are currently no other candidates for Moura's seat, Asen said.
"I think he has a good chance. He's been very receptive to me and I agree with him on 99 percent of the issues," said Josh Miller, owner of Trinity Brewhouse and a candidate for District 28 State Senator.
Segal's decision to seek a seat in the state House of Representatives shakes up the race for his seat on the City Council. The focus will now be on the Sept. 12 Democratic primary, when Ethan Ris '05, a teacher at the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center, will face off against Seth Yurdin, 38, a Boston lawyer.
Segal and Moura both endorsed Yurdin Friday night.
"I think he'll do a great job as City Councilman for the 1st Ward and I hope you all will support him," Segal said. "I'm proud there's someone who wants to run for my seat for the right reasons."
Yurdin said he had been considering running for the council seat for several months, adding he "figured it was a good time to run" with Segal moving on. Yurdin said he will focus on "talking to voters, understanding their concerns. I'm running a grassroots campaign."
Ris said he called Yurdin several weeks ago and suggested they sit down to talk, but Yurdin refused.
"As far as I can tell, Seth is in the race for the right reasons," Ris said, though "he doesn't really seem to have any positions on any issues."
Yurdin said the election will be decided on "experience and who has the commitment to the community."
