Running for higher office from the mayor's chair is always a difficult proposition. City Hall comes with baggage.

That made former Mayor David Cicilline's triumph in the Congressional election of this past fall all the more impressive. And as he settled into his Capitol Hill offices, the ugliness of urban politics was supposed to fade rather quickly.

Angel Taveras' inauguration ceremony is kicking off. The air is brisk. Spanish is heard as often as English. There is an air of the new. Advance copies of the mayor's speech are circulating, in English and in Spanish. Here's the open:

Honorable elected officials, family and distinguished guests from near and far, good afternoon and welcome to Rhode Island’s great capital City – Providence.

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.

Joe Paolino, the former Providence mayor who has been talking about a run against incumbent Mayor David N. Cicilline, tells N4N that he will make a decision about whether to run in the next 30 days.

Observers are betting against a run given that his family's company, Paolino Properties, has large swaths of empty commercial space downtown that needs attending.

Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline told N4N today that his bid for re-election this fall will be his last mayoral run. He was mum, though, about what posts he might consider after he leaves the mayor's office.

Cicilline passed on the gubernatorial election this time around and would probably not make a run for the job in four years if one of the Democrats vying for the job - Frank Caprio or Patrick Lynch - wins and seeks re-election in 2014.

So much for the Phoenix's endorsement of City Councilor Sam Yoon in the Boston mayoral race. After yesterday's preliminary election, it's incumbent mayor Tom Menino versus City Councilor Michael Flaherty in the general election next month.

Menino won big in the first round and is heavily favored in the second. A reminder, as we gear up for our own mayoral tilt in Providence, of the power of incumbency.

Providence Mayor David Cicilline's campaign has launched a radio ad amid the storm over the firefighters' planned picket of the US Mayor's Conference. The script, just in:

ANNOUNCER:

And now a word from Mayor David Cicilline

MAYOR CICILLINE:

These are tough times for Providence. I’ve cut spending and city employees have trimmed benefits….

Oh, it's not over. Weeks after talk radio finished beating on Mayor David Cicilline for the "P" - you know, the little orange letter meant to rebrand Providence as the "Creative Capital" - our favorite little controversy resurfaced yesterday with a front-page piece in the Wall Street Journal on the local tempest and the broader debate over branding places.

In the latest installment of the long-running debate over the future of the Providence Public Library, the Library Reform Group has an action planned later this week:

PRESS CONFERENCE:

PPL PROPOSED AGREEMENT with CITY is FLAWED!
THE MAYOR AND PPL NEED TO
GO BACK AND FIX IT!

On Thursday, July 24, at 5:00 p.

Dan Barbarisi today describes the pro and con on a proposed reformulation of the Providence City Council, a topic I wrote about here, as well as how the matter could be decided this week:

WHEN THE 12-3 GROUP met in [Steve] Durkee’s office on Wednesday, possibly for the last time, there was a sense of urgency in the room.

Co-host Erik Bright sends this word:

I hope you can join us this Wednesday for food and drinks with Councilman Aponte at the Fabre Line Club. The Fabre Line, located on the top floor of 200 Allens Ave., provides a spectacular waterfront venue with sun set views of our City Skyline and the Bay.

Councilman Aponte has been a consistent advocate for small businesses and instrumental in helping PCIS locate 43 new creative businesses and 107 full time jobs to Providence's Waterfront.

You didn't have to be a rocket scientist to realize that proponents of a reconfigured Providence City Council were operating with a very narrow window of opportunity.

Dan Barbarisi has the latest:

Last night at the council’s ordinance committee meeting, two proposals were axed outright, and two others seemed to draw a cool reception from many council members.