Amid word from the state police that further arrests are expected in the probe related to alleged drug-dealing by three Providence police officers, Mayor David Cicilline maintains the department is vastly improved from the time when he took office in 2003.

There's a long connection between Providence Mayor David Cicilline and Angel Taveras, one of the Democrats hoping to succeed him at City Hall. During the September 2002 Democratic primary that effectively ushered in the Cicilline era in Providence, Taveras, a lawyer, helped lead the response to concerns about possible voting irregularities. More recently, Cicilline appointed Taveras to a position on the Providence Housing Court (which Taveras left shortly before launching his run). So it wouldn't be surprising if Cicilline eventually joined the litany of crosstown politicos lining up behind Taveras.

This just in from the Providence mayoral campaign of Angel Taveras:

Kevin Jackson, a Providence City Councilman, and John Kelly, President and CEO of Meeting Street, today endorsed Angel Taveras for Mayor of Providence and urged city voters to support him. Councilman Jackson represents Ward Three on Providence's East Side and John Kelly is a respected civic leader who lives in South Elmwood. Both were considered likely Mayoral candidates in 2010.

Angel Taveras announced his Providence mayoral campaign this morning. The setting was a tent filled with more than 150 supporters in the rain-swept parking lot of an Olneyville supermarket where Taveras had worked as a youth.

Even though he got a relatively small amount of the vote, Angel Taveras impressed political observers when he made his first run for office in 2000, part of a crowded field for the congressional seat now held by Jim Langevin. When Taveras would run again became a question mostly of timing and his resolve.

Now, with Providence Mayor David Cicilline running for Congress, Taveras is set to announce his run for City Hall, at 10 am Thursday, at 80 Manton Avenue in Olneyville.

Expected Providence mayoral candidate Angel Taveras appears to be moving in that direction, as indicated by a post on his Facebook page:

Update, 12:59 pm: No outpouring of arts supporters. 

Costantino's announcement was attended by more than 100 people, including Speaker Gordon Fox and House Majority Leader Nicholas Mattiello. There was not a noticeable presence of arts advocates concerned about budget cuts.

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Among the candidates lining up to run for mayor of Providence now that David Cicilline is making a congressional bid, Myrth York is one of the big winners.

With a big field of Providence mayoral candidates still unfolding, some of the usual suspects of West Side civic engagement/the knowledge economy are promoting Uncaucus, "a citizen-led movement for Providence's future."

The Uncaucus will encourage a citizen-led search to hire a Mayor who will help us build a stronger city. Over the next nine months the Uncaucus will:

UPDATE: 5:20 pm. York comments.

York says she'll decide whether to run for mayor within the next few weeks. Here's the gist of her message:

I love the city and I think we’re at a crucial moment. I think that Mayor Cicilline’s done a great job moving us forward in a healthy, good direction, and I want to see the city continue in that direction.

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