african americans could be a swing group and cianci is counting on them. >> ♪ give a vote for buddy cianci a better job for homes for our families ♪ >> reporter: despite cianci being the most recognizable figure in the race, arguably in providence history, 21% in the polls said they hadn't yet made up their minds. bad news for buddy, says wendy shiller. >> he's a well-known candidate, so if 21% are undecided and they know you well, they're likely leading in the other direction. >> reporter: it's up to cianci to convince voters, beyond his loyal base, that he earned that chance. >> good luck. >> reporter: whether he succeeds could determine how this controversial figure is remembered-- as the comeback kid or part of the city's dark past. >> sreenivasan: last night we aired a story about painful choices facing families with loved ones on life support. tonight, another look at dealing with loss, as a father copes with the death of his son through poetry. jeffrey brown is back with that. >> brown: gabriel hirsh was a high-spirited, and often reckless child and young man who suffered from a var

. >> reporter: and the legendary six-term providence mayor buddy cianci looking to return to city hallfter a prison stent of five years for conspiracy to commit rack are tearing. >> i did my time. in this system of justice, you have a chance and i was sentenced and i did it, and i did it like a man. >> reporter: he was released from the federal gated community, the 76-year-old see yancey wants his job back, and holding court this night at a drag bingo game. b for buddy. >> reporter: why back in? >> a cle line in tdecline in th that is number one and i looked around and none of them have a vision, so u decided to run. >> reporter: he has the critics, but the poll shows that providence might get him out of a bad time. >> i got you out of the bad time in 1980. well, i'm glad that you remember it. >> reporter: even on the phone, everyone remembers edwin edward s. did that gentleman say that you helped him in 1980? >> yes. >> reporter: do you recall? >> no, but he was very grateful. >> reporter: and they are spending time catching up with voters who feel like old friends. edwards who many p

. >> reporter: and the legendary six-term providence mayor buddy cianci looking to return to city hall prison stent of five years for conspiracy to commit rack are tearing. >> i did my time. in this system of justice, you have a chance and i was sentenced and i did it, and i did it like a man. >> reporter: he was released from the federal gated community, the 76-year-old see yancey wants his job back, and holding court this night at a drag bingo game. b for buddy. >> reporter: why back in? >> a cle line in tdecline in th that is number one and i looked around and none of them have a vision, so u decided to run. >> reporter: he has the critics, but the poll shows that providence might get him out of a bad time. >> i got you out of the bad time in 1980. well, i'm glad that you remember it. >> reporter: even on the phone, everyone remembers edwin edward s. did that gentleman say that you helped him in 1980? >> yes. >> reporter: do you recall? >> no, but he was very grateful. >> reporter: and they are spending time catching up with voters who feel like old friends. edwards who many people

plus, former providence mayor buddy cianci's bid to come back and lead the rhode island city after beingprison.

on wednesday, we'll look at buddy cianci's bid to come back as mayor of providence, rhode island, after in prison. i'm judy woodruff we'll see you on-line and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us here at the pbs newshour, thank you and good night. ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org garabedian. >>> this is "nightly business report" w with tyler mathisen a zbaifrg. >>> separate ways, ebay spins off its fast-growing pay pal unit marking a sharp reserve in strategy as the mobile payments strategy changes very quickly. >> going to be very quickly focused on performance and we're a ver