By RUSS OLIVO

WOONSOCKET — Given the fiscal anemia that plagues the city, this might seem like an ill-advised moment to run for the mayor's job.

But as incumbent Mayor Susan D. Menard's dynastic 14-year rein as chief executive nears its final days, the list of possible contenders lining up to fill the leadership vacuum keeps getting longer.
Perhaps the best known of these are Todd Brien, the former detective sergeant for the Woonsocket Police Department who has twice challenged Menard in the past, and City Council President Leo T. Fontaine.
Both have made no secret of their intentions to run for mayor and, as Brien and many political observers predict, after the dust settles this fall's mayoral scrap could very well turn out to be a Brien versus Fontaine race.
But there are at least four other possible contenders, including Steve Lima, an businessman who just made his intentions public this week. Lima, 38, owns a telecommunications business and is the driving force behind the Bernon Mills condominium conversion, one of the most ambitious projects of its kind in the city.
“I honestly don't feel comfortable with the people that are going to run being leaders for the city,” Lima told The Call.
Lima, 38, has never held public office before, but he says voters might see that as a plus. As a newcomer, Lima says he “doesn't owe anyone any favors” and he isn't locked into a point of view. Moreover, he says, political experience isn't everything it's cracked up to be.
“You could be the best politician and the worst leader,” he says. “You need someone with a business background.”
Michael Mello, who ran for mayor in the last election, also announced last week that he intends to take another shot at it this year.
A former private investigator and emergency medical technician, Mello, 52, was eliminated from contention in 2007 after  garnering just 2.5 percent of the primary vote.
But Mello said in a recent interview that he senses the electorate may be in the mood to shift support away from candidates who are perceived to be a part of the political establishment.
Speculation about who might toss their hats into the ring this season was fueled recently by news of pollsters asking questions about two other possible candidates, State Rep. Jon Brien, a Democrat who represents District 50, and Lisa Baldelli-Hunt, also a Democrat, from District 49.
Brien (a distant relation to Todd) and Baldelli-Hunt both come with political pedigrees that are well-known to city voters. Brien is the son of Albert G. Brien, himself a former state representative and city finance director. His wife, Stella Guerra Brien, is a freshman member of the City Council. Both lawyers, they're not just married, but partners in the family practice.
Reached by telephone recently, Brien distanced himself from the poll, saying he was not responsible for commissioning it and didn't know who was. Brien said he was concerned about the future of the city, but he denied he is a candidate for mayor – at least at the moment. He said he couldn't rule out the possibility of changing his mind.
Baldelli-Hunt is a niece of former Mayor Charles Baldelli. A real estate investor, Baldelli-Hunt made headlines earlier this year when she abruptly withdrew an offer to purchase the Ayotte Little League Field from the city, saying she had been subjected to an inappropriate grilling about the deal at the hands of the City Council. Baldelli-Hunt was back at the table months later to buy the property at a substantial discount after a deal with another developer fell through.
Baldelli-Hunt did not return a telephone call seeking comment about the mayoral poll.
Sources say the poll appeared to be geared toward sizing up how Brien or Baldelli-Hunt might fare in a matchup against Fontaine – perhaps because he is perceived as a front runner. But Baldelli-Hunt and Brien weren't the only names the pollsters measured against the council president. A third option was the incumbent – Menard.
Asked why pollsters would include her in the canvassing, Menard said recently that she didn't know. But Menard has made it abundantly clear of late that she has no intention of seeking an eighth term in office.
 Perhaps Menard made the point most poignantly – and publicly –  during a City Council meeting on June 22, the night the controversial city budget was passed. In what sounded like a farewell, the mayor profusely thanked officials for their years of service, saying she would be mayor for only five more months. Then Menard spoke of how much her life had changed recently – an apparent reference to the untimely death of her daughter earlier this year – and abruptly left the meeting, choking back tears.
Yet if recent history is any guide, it would be premature to count Menard out until it's time to sign on the dotted line of a formal declaration. While Menard has reaffirmed her intention not to seek another term since the June 22 meeting, it's difficult to forget that she very publicly tendered her resignation last spring, only to retract her statement later, saying there was too much unfinished business facing the city to quit.
Regardless of what the candidates say about their plans now, none of it has any legal validity unless they file formal declarations of candidacy with the Board of Canvassers at City Hall. That declaration period begins Aug. 17 and lasts until Aug. 25.
And no matter how crowded the field seems after the declaration period ends, only two contestants will make it onto the final ballot. A primary runoff will be held on Oct. 6 to winnow the also-rans from the race. The general election – under Woonsocket's rules of governance, a non-partisan affair - will ultimately decide the contest on Nov. 3.
Todd Brien is confident he will be one of the two finalist in the home stretch, and there are persuasive reasons to believe him. After two high-profile campaigns against Menard, Brien has instant name recognition and has earned the respect of many voters for taking on a powerful, popular incumbent against long odds. Though he took a drubbing against Menard in his first bid, voters have steadily warmed to Brien, who finished within 274 votes of Menard in the 2007 primary.
A detective sergeant for the Woonsocket Police Department for two decades, Brien, 45, now makes a living as a private investigator. It is his fervent desire that his third bid for the mayor's job will be the proverbial charm.
“We set out four years ago with a vision for Woonsocket, to make it better,” says Brien. “And I still feel I can do that.”
Brien says he is undeterred by the fiscal instability that has leaped to the forefront of the city's agenda of must-tackle problems. During both of his campaigns, he accused officials of glossing over the city's financial weaknesses and called for outside experts to take a closer look at the books.. Brien says the city might never have been able to avert the fiscal crisis it's in, but it might have been able to respond more effectively had officials heeded his advice.
Likewise, Fontaine says he is unafraid of running for mayor in a time when many officials will likely be forced to choose between fiscal prudence and political popularity. Indeed, says Fontaine, who has long expressed a desire to run for the city's top electoral spot, it would be most inappropriate for him to shirk the challenge simply because it is politically dangerous.
“At this point I feel an obligation, almost, to do the work,” says Fontaine. “I don't think I can turn back now just because times are tough.”
A member of the City Council since 1993, Fontaine says he understands the inner workings of municipal government and has more experience to bring to the table than any other candidate in the field. And he is certainly one of the most popular public figures in the city: While Menard may be mayor, Fontaine garnered 4,964 votes as a candidate for council in 2007, some 900 more than Menard received in her winning bid for mayor.