A day after rolling out an endorsement from erstwhile opponent Steven Costantino, Providence mayoral candidate Angel Taveras announces that his other major opponent in the Democratic primary, City Councilman John Lombardi. From the release:

City Councilman and former Democratic mayoral candidate John Lombardi today endorsed Angel Taveras for Mayor of Providence and urged city voters to support him.

Defeated Democratic mayoral candidate Steven Costantino has endorsed Democratic victor Angel Taveras. From the Taveras campaign:

State Representative and former Democratic mayoral candidate Steven Costantino today endorsed Angel Taveras for Mayor of Providence and urged city voters to support him.

"Angel Taveras recognizes the primary responsibilities of our next mayor are to put residents back to work and grow our economy," said Costantino.

Providence City Councilman Michael Solomon says he has the votes to ascend to the City Council presidency, with Seth Yurdin as majority leader. The announcement gives some shape to a council that was very much in flux after a wave of announced retirements heading into the primary election last week.

Solomon endorsed Steven Costantino in the mayoral race over eventual winner Angel Taveras.

In this week's Phoenix, I've got a piece that tackles the public opinion poll in the context of this year's elections. Two points: a lack of public polling left pundits flying blind in the run-up to the primary; and David Cicilline's candidacy raises an interesting question - could there be a gay "Bradley effect?"

The Bradley effect is named after a black candidate for governor of California, Tom Bradley, who was leading in the polls in his fall 1982 race but lost the election.

Primary Day is here and it's as good a time as any to take a look at the ProJo's coverage of what many have called Rhode Island's best political year in a generation.

The paper has had a few good scoops - witness columnist Ed Fitzpatrick's recent piece on Democratic gubernatorial candidate Frank Caprio meeting with the Republican National Committee in February amid speculation that he might run as a Republican.

The Providence Phoenix endorses in three primary races today - backing David Cicilline for Congress, Angel Taveras for mayor, and Joe Fernandez for attorney general.

Agree or disagree, we urge voters to get to the polls. This is a critical time for Rhode Island. And voters, as we note in the editorial, have a rare opportunity to reshape the upper echelons of the state's political leadership in a sweeping way.

Providence mayoral candidate John Lombardi is touting an internal poll, by the widely respected Zogby International, that gives him a lead in the race. The press release from the campaign doesn't provide any numbers (we've got a call into the campaign). And one must always be wary of internal polls, of course. But this is just further evidence of what is shaping up as a close race.

Providence mayoral candidate Angel Taveras, who was appointed as a housing court judge by outgoing mayor David Cicilline, has engaged in a delicate dance with his predecessor's legacy: embracing the post-Buddy, anti-corruption image Cicilline has cultivated while seeking to establish a few points of departure from a long-serving pol whose approval ratings have taken a hit in recent years.

Providence has long banked on the creative economy as engine of growth. On Wednesday, the city's mayoral candidates will square off on the issue:

On Wednesday, September 1, candidates for Mayor of the City of Providence will gather in a moderated forum to discuss the future of the Creative Capital. Hosted by RI Citizens for the Arts and moderated by Mark Murphy of PBN, the event expects a large turnout from members of the creative sector and a lively discussion on how the candidates plan to grow and capitalize on Providence ’s creative assets to benefit the city at large.

Add pollster Joe Fleming to the list of political observers expecting low voter turnout for the September 14 primary. His data point: last week's North Providence special election, which drew just 13 percent of eligible voters.

The race was, of course, far from analogous to the upcoming primary. It was a special election, held in one town.

It took the ProJo a day to acknowledge the signature moment in Tuesday night's Providence mayoral debate - serial candidate Christopher Young's marriage proposal to long-time girlfriend Kara Russo - but as the paper notes this morning, it has caught on nationwide: the HuffPost, MSNBC (lead story on the web site, as I write), you name it.

I'll have a short piece in this week's Phoenix on the Providence mayoral race and last night's debate. The race, more than any other of the major contests in the state, is something of a cipher. There have been no public polls, after all. But the consensus among politicos that it is quite tight.

The conventional wisdom had Angel Taveras riding a Cicilline-like coalition of the East and South Sides to victory in the Democratic primary, with Steven Costantino and John Lombardi splitting the more traditional white ethnic vote.

It's not quite Labor Day yet, but Democratic gubernatorial candidate says he'll be back on the air come Thursday with ads focused - surprise, surprise - on small business and job creation.

It'll be interesting to see how heavy his rotation will be. Patrick Lynch's decision to drop out of the Democratic gubernatorial primary - leaving the field to Caprio - was supposed to give candidates for Congress, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and Providence mayor a little more room to breath during primary season.

Providence mayoral candidates Angel Taveras, angling to become the city's first Latino mayor, and Steven Costantino, the powerful chairman of the House Finance Committee and winner of the Democratic Party's official imprimatur, have won much of the attention in the race.

But the third major candidate, longtime City Councilman John Lombardi, is showing strength with strong fundraising of late.

Providence mayoral candidate Angel Taveras released his public safety plan today. No great surprises for those who have followed the campaign closely. The first two bullets reference the recent troubles in the police department and suggest a long-telegraphed split with the Cicilline administration on public safety leadership: