Cicilline's tougher landscape

I've run into Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline twice in the last week, and he's seemed his usual public self, talking up Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, among other things. Yet as the mayor prepares to deliver his latest State of the City speech tonight, at 7 at the Rhode Island Convention Center, Cicilline could be excused if he's a tad wistful for some earlier points in his administration.

Most notably, the weak response to the December snow storm delivered a sharp blow to the mayor's previously high favorability rating. While the departure of operations-types like Mike Mello and Carol Grant likely played a role, Cicilline is the one who faces the fallout. Snow happens to be in the forecast for tonight.

Assuming the city can avoid a repeat of December's mess, Cicilline's approval rating may well rebound in the future. Yet as the mayor waits to pull the final trigger on a gubernatorial run for 2010, a number of things add up to a less congenial environment for him:

-- Buddy Cianci has his City Hall in exile at WPRO-AM, offering a conduit for criticism of the incumbent, and Buddy remains buddy-buddy with former foe Joseph R. Paolino Jr., as seen by their recent publication of a PBN op-ed.

-- The forthcoming trial of the mayor's brother.

-- Stepped-up criticism from opponents on the city council, and jockeying by prospective mayoral candidates.

-- An effective decrease in local aid from the state.

-- The departure of experienced staffers, for other opportunities, or in anticipation of a change in administration.

 -- This seems less consequential, yet Patrick Lynch has differentiated himself from other gubernatorial hopefuls by endorsing Obama.