Are RI Democrats moving to take back the Warwick mayor's office? Picozzi thinks so.

WARWICK – The race for mayor may have unofficially kicked off Monday when incumbent Mayor Frank Picozzi accused Gov. Dan McKee of effectively campaigning for someone to replace him in the November election.

"I was made aware that Governor McKee, at the invitation of Senator [Mark] McKenny, was scheduled to be in Warwick this afternoon visiting small businesses," Picozzi posted on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. "The person that they are planning on running against me was invited, I was not."

The politician on the small business tour most likely in Picozzi's crosshairs is Warwick City Council President Stephen McAllister, who is considering a running for mayor.

What actually happened?

"He is reading too much into it," McAllister said about his appearance with McKee, McKenney, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and state Commerce Secretary Liz Tanner at a group of small businesses on West Shore Road. "I have been doing these tours with McKee since he was lieutenant governor and small business was his focus."

What's more, McAllister said Picozzi was invited, or at least his office was.

"His chief of staff Aaron Mackisey was on email list I got," McAllister said.

McKee's office also said Picozzi was invited to the tour of businesses, which included Jon’s Locks, Cat’s Cakes & Café, The Berry Joint, Mary’s Paperbacks, Just In Time Flowers, Antonio’s Bakery and Tropical Smoothie.

"The governor regularly makes it a point to meet with and hear from small business owners in the community. Today, he visited several businesses along West Shore Road in Warwick," McKee spokeswoman Olivia DaRocha wrote in an email about Picozzi's comments. "On Friday, [the] governor’s municipal outreach department notified the mayor’s office, extended an invite to the event and shared the list of businesses they anticipated to visit on Monday."

In an email Monday, Picozzi said he was emailed "after a phone call between the governor’s office and my chief of staff."

"During the phone call, no invitation was offered. It was a heads-up thing. This 'event' was not the governor’s. He was invited to participate. I was not," he said.

On behalf of McKenney, D-Warwick, Senate spokesman Greg Pare said the Monday business event was hosted by McKee and arranged by his office. McKenney's role was in recommending businesses to visit.

Picozzi running for reelection, but will he have an opponent?

Picozzi, an independent, is running for his third term in office since beating the late Joe Solomon in 2020.

If he wins, he will be the first Warwick mayor to get a four-year term in office since a change to longer terms and term limits were approved in 2022.

That year, Democrats were unable to recruit a candidate to run against Picozzi despite controlling the City Council and most of the city's State House delegation.

While McAllister hasn't announced a campaign, it's not surprising Picozzi would think he is running. He is holding a fundraiser hosted by Shekarchi, a Warwick Democrat, and McKee at the Crowne Plaza on Tuesday night.

So is McAllister, whose day job is with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, running for mayor or not?

"I am considering it, strongly considering it," McAllister said Monday. "I have not made decision."

McAllister did not set a timeline for his decision on running and said he is not planning to make an announcement at the Tuesday fundraiser.

McKee's normal State House office displaced by `Ella McCay' filming

Besides connecting with business owners and possibly supporting McAllister, McKee has a good reason to stay on the move this week.

His normal office in the State House has been taken over by movie crews shooting the film "Ella McCay."

While actors including Emma Mackey, Jamie Lee Curtis and Woody Harrelson are working in the State House, McKee has been given space in a suite of offices in the Department of Administration Building across the street.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: A small business visit in Warwick opens up spat between mayor, McKee