By RUSS OLIVO

WOONSOCKET — When the U.S. Supreme Court decided the presidential election in favor of then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush nearly a decade ago, Steve Lima was so upset by the outcome that he can still recall his reaction today.

“I'll tell you how vividly I remember it,” says Lima. “I turned to my ex-wife and said, 'I'll never vote again.'”
Lima made good on his promise, wholly avoiding the polls since 1999 — or so he recalls. It probably wouldn't matter much, except that Lima is now one of four candidates vying to succeed Mayor Susan D. Menard in what is his first-ever bid for public office, and his voting record, or lack of one, has become ammunition for critics and opponents.
Just as troubling is that Lima's recollection of when he last voted is significantly at odds with the public record. Officials at the Board of Canvassers say Lima has not voted since Nov. 2, 1993, six years earlier than Lima claims he last voted. Lima, who is 38 now, would have been 22 years old then.
When informed of the discrepancy, officials at the Board of Canvassers reaffirmed the date after double-checking their computer and paper records. With the abundance of records they're obliged to keep on voter activity, they say it is possible their data is erroneous, but there is no way to know for sure.
While Lima says he doesn't want to pick a fight with the Board of Canvassers, he stands by his recollection.
But he openly admits that even a spell of 10 years was too long to stay away from the polls, a dereliction of civic duty he now calls “wrong.”
“At the end of the day there's no good excuse on why I didn't vote,” says Lima. “The fact of the matter is I felt as though my vote wasn't heard and I was frustrated with the system. I felt like my vote didn't matter.”
Lima, who blames his mayoral rivals for pushing the issue, says no man-on-the-street types have ever asked him to explain his record. But if they did he would apologize for his failure to vote, just as he would urge them to cast their ballot for him now.  He portrays his past behavior was merely that of  “a young man” who had lost faith in the system – not an excuse, he says, just the truth.
City records notwithstanding, Lima said the only person he could recall voting for other than 1999 Democratic presidential contender Al Gore was President Bill Clinton. Lima said he wasn't sure if he had ever cast a ballot in a local election.
Lima, who is making his first bid for elective office, is known primarily as the developer of Bernon Mills Estates, a luxury 48-unit condominium complex carved from one of the oldest mill sites in the city. The project has been in the works for several years, with the first 15 units slated to go up for sale next month. He is also one of the owners of Futurecom, a company that specializes in designing and installing fiber optic telecommunications networks.
Lima says his past involvement in city politics is generally limited to attending some meetings of the City Council many years ago after he bought a house near the former NETCO sewer treatment plant, which was blamed for spreading noxious odors throughout the neighborhood. Even though he advocated for improvements, Lima said his experiences with elected officials at the time were not particularly inspiring.
Lima says his political transformation is due in part to his experience in keeping the condo project on track, particularly in these tough economic times. Like the once- bedraggled mill complex that he has lifted up from the dregs,  Lima calls Woonsocket is “a diamond in the rough that just needs a little polish.” He said the city is desperately in need of a vocal advocate and “I'm the only guy that actually has a vision for the city, the guy who has the passion and the guts to get it done.”
Lima casts himself as an independent, free-thinking candidate for mayor at a time when there is a high level of voter dissatisfaction with the political establishment. City residents have just been buffeted by the biggest tax hike they've faced in at least 15 years, prompting the rise of grassroots political organizations like the Woonsocket Taxpayers Coalition and a flood of political newcomers challenging incumbents on the School Committee and City Council.
In addition to Lima, City Council President Leo T. Fontaine, former state representative Todd R. Brien and private investigator Michael Mello are due to square off in a primary on Oct. 6. Only the two top vote-getters will advance to the general election on Nov. 3.
Though Lima's voting record may be ample fodder for radio talks shows and political debates, how much it matters to the average Joe on election day may be another matter altogether. Name recognition might be an even more problematic hurdle for the political newcomer to surmount.
“Who's Steve Lima?” was Geraldine Barclay-King's first reaction to a question about the candidate's voting record.
But Barclay-King, who lives in Woonsocket and works for a local non-profit agency, said she is unlikely to support a candidate who has shunned the polls for as long as Lima. It seems “kind of hypocritical” to her that someone would enter elective politics after not bothering to vote for so long.
Jonathan Cooke, a downtown restaurateur, also said he does not know who Lima is. But Cooke said it shouldn't matter whether a candidate had voted in the past, or how often.
“No one is obligated to vote,” he said. “And most of the people who vote don't know what the heck is going on anyway, so what does it matter if they vote?”