Ruggiero, Compo Pierce face off in mayoral debate

Oct. 18—WATERTOWN — At times during Wednesday night's mayoral debate, you might have thought that Mayor Jeffrey Smith and developer P.J. Simao were running against each other.

Their names came up quite a bit during the two-hour candidates forum between City Councilwomen Lisa A. Ruggiero and Sarah V. Compo Pierce.

The second question of the night involved a billboard on Factory Street that Simao put up a few days ago that calls Compo Pierce and Smith stupid.

"It's sad," Compo Pierce said. "It's unfortunate."

She wondered how Ruggiero could have political signs on the same property and underneath a picture of her face that's on that billboard.

"I don't condone that billboard at all," Ruggiero said.

In defending herself, Ruggiero asked Compo Pierce how she could allow her supporters to post such unflattering and negative memes on a Facebook page that attacks her and other council members.

She also accused Compo Pierce's supporters of stealing and vandalizing many of her political signs.

While she said she didn't know anything about the damaged and stolen political signs, Compo Pierce said that memes and political attacks are something that someone can expect when they run for elected office.

"People have the right to express themselves," she said.

Besides the billboard, Simao has offered a $5,000 reward to anyone who can provide the identities and evidence about who is involved in those memes.

It's Simao's way of trying to influence city issues, Compo Pierce said.

Ruggiero also accused the councilwoman of lying about Simao's involvement in Ruggiero's campaign. She also denied a charge that she's in Simao's back pocket.

"Mr. Simao is not part of my campaign," Ruggiero said.

Calling him "her mentor," Ruggiero said the city's current mayor spent more than four months on a radio hotline show bashing her. Smith supports Compo Pierce for mayor.

While subbing for former Mayor Jeffrey E. Graham on the radio show, Smith kept making up lies about the city purchasing the former Watertown Golf Club for $3.4 million from developer Michael E. Lundy, Ruggiero said.

Smith "only told one side of the story" on the radio show, Ruggiero said.

Much of the night was devoted to the purchase of that golf club in Thompson Park.

Some people in attendance in the packed house at the Italian-American Civic Association clubhouse yelled out "move on" to try to dissuade discussion on it when it initially came up Wednesday night. Apparently, they are tired of hearing about it.

As she has in the past, Compo Pierce criticized that the deal was discussed in closed-door sessions, the public was not allowed to talk about the issue at a special meeting Dec. 7 and an appraisal wasn't done on the golf club. She also accused Simao of orchestrating the deal.

But Ruggiero defended her support for it and denied it was a dirty deal.

According to city rules, the public isn't allowed to address an issue during special meetings. And the public was able to speak at a series of other council meetings about it.

As part of the deal, Lundy paid Simao, the former owner of Ives Hill Country Club on Flower Avenue West, $850,000 for a deed restriction involving the transaction.

Simao agreed to only operate Ives Hill as a nine-hole course, making the Thompson Park Golf Course the only 18-hole facility in Watertown.

Ruggiero also pointed out that she has been nothing but supportive of the city-owned golf course. She deems it a success.

Now almost a year after the deal, Ruggiero said the deed restriction "is more valuable" because Simao has since sold nine-hole Ives Hill to developer Jake Johnson, so the city does run the only 18-hole course in the city.

With both of them involved in such a feisty forum, the two mayoral candidates were asked about the lack of decorum that has plagued council meetings this year and what they would do to change the tone.

Ruggiero said she can work with any of the four candidates running for council, noting that she has dealt this year with the feud between Councilman Cliff G. Olney III and the mayor.

While her opponent has sat silent during the arguments, she has often tried to quell the outbursts between them by trying to change the discussion to another subject.

But Compo Pierce defended herself, saying that she has only acted "calm" and "professional" as an elected official.

The two candidates also were asked about the prospects of becoming Watertown's first woman mayor.

Both candidates said they would be proud to serve Watertown if they're elected as the city's first woman mayor.