Summer is zipping by, so enjoy the beach and warm weather while you can. Thanks for stopping by for my weekly column. Your tips and comments remain welcome. And you can follow me through the week on the twitters. Here we go.
1. House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello has gained an important strategic resource as he faces a rematch with Steven Frias, the Cranston Republican who lost a 2016 challenge by just 65 votes: Matt Jerzyk, one of the best campaign advisers in the state, has signed on as a consultant to Mattiello’s campaign, RIPR has learned. Jerzyk currently works as a lawyer with William A. Farrell and Associates and as city solicitor in Central Falls, where the city’s lawsuit this week against President Trump‘s U.S. Justice Department (filed with the City of Providence) squares with Jerzyk’s progressive profile. The Brown University/RWU Law grad left the Statehouse earlier this year, after working in recent years as deputy legal counsel for Mattiello and chief legal counsel for House Majority Leader Joseph Shekarchi. Jerzyk engineered campaign wins for Angel Taveras and James Diossa, in addition to Mattiello, and his knowledge of Rhode Island elections and electoral math makes a key resource for the speaker’s campaign. (Jerzyk appeared before the state Board of Elections earlier this year, as part of the board’s inquiry into Mattiello’s 2016 campaign.) Some other members of Mattiello’s 2016 campaign team won’t reprise their roles this time, including Jeff Britt and Kristen Dart. Frias has a strong understanding of political communication, and he came close to toppling Mattiello last time, so Jerzyk’s involvement in the matchup will only raise the intensity of one of 2018’s most-watched political fights.
2. Patricia Morgan injected fresh vitality into the GOP side of Rhode Island’s gubernatorial race when she called out Allan Fung during a news conference on Wednesday. Morgan said Fung is hiding from voters, to the detriment of the democratic process: “If the voters don’t know who we are and what values guide our life, what principles make up our core system of decision-making, they don’t know what kind of chief executive we’re going to be.” Morgan pointed to how Fung and Gov. Gina Raimondo have been unwilling to take part in televised debates with their primary rivals ahead of the September 12 primary — and she called that an unprecedented development during her years in Rhode Island politics. (Separately, Matt Brown‘s campaign said in a statement, “Matt Brown and Gina Raimondo have two very different visions for the state, and voters deserve to hear about them. Debates are essential to democratic elections. Matt Brown has proposed five debates on issues that matter to voters and has accepted invitations from local reporters.”) It’s no surprise that candidates like to control their own message, and that perceived front runners try to avoid raising the profile of their rivals. It’s also worth noting that Raimondo takes questions from reporters during her frequent press events, while Fung has remained more shielded from the press since his campaign announcement last October. (Fung’s campaign offered a “no comment” on Morgan’s criticism of him and the campaign declined an interview request from RI Public Radio.) The question now is whether Fung and Raimondo’s unwillingness to debate their primary rivals on TV comes back to haunt them in a meaningful way. During the news conference at her Warwick campaign office, Morgan signaled that she plans to remain focused on the lack of debates. For now, some Rhode Islanders who pay attention to politics disaprove of the situation. Yet time is fast ticking down ahead of the primary, Morgan has relatively limited money with which to spread her message, and a drumbeat of gripes about insufficient debates may blend into the background. Then again, a little bit of creativity can sometimes go a long way in campaigns, and recent history shows that election outcomes have become increasingly unpredictable.
3. Former Providence Journal political column M. Charles Bakst shared this observation on the debate controversy: “I can’t remember as little debate in primaries with major candidates. It seems the races are frozen, so to speak, in the summer doldrums — and they may stay that way. In each party, there is a clear front runner, with organizational and fundraising advantages, and they apparently feel no responsibility or need to give their opponents publicity and perhaps risk a stumble. Front runners often do debate if challengers somehow are catching on and the risk of NOT debating becomes too high. If a primary front runner asked me for advice, I would advocate agreeing to a few debates regardless of the polls or other traditional factor, for two reasons: 1) Like an athlete, you need to train and keep sharp; 2) To refuse debate a primary opponent can leave you in a weak position if you find yourself trailing in the general election and you are trying to get your November opponent to debate you. He or she can always taunt you: ‘Why should I agree to debate you? You wouldn’t debate your opposition in the primary.’ “
4. The more things change, the more they (sometimes) stay the same. Back in 2014, Gina Raimondo pulled in 40.7 percent of the vote, Allan Fung attracted 36.2 percent, and the late Robert “Cool Moose” Healey 21.4 percent. Now, in the latest WPRI-TV/Roger Williams University poll, Raimondo has 39 percent, Fung 37 percent, and 14 percent of voters are undecided. The consistency of the findings is striking for a few reasons, including how Raimondo has spent well over $1 million in the early months of the campaign. Meanwhile, the poll also found 1) an uptick in approval, to 37 percent, for President Trump in RI; 2) support for legislation to strengthen abortion rights in Rhode Island (49 percent in favor, 32 percent against); and 3) and a whopping 77 percent of respondents said the cost of buying or renting a home in RI is a very serious or somewhat serious problem.
5. Katherine Kerwin, 21, who is running unopposed for the Ward 12 (Smith Hill/Mount Pleasant) seat being vacated by Terry Hassett, is poised to become one of the youngest members in the history of the Providence City Council. With a number of seats being contested this year, there could be more turnover. “I think there are a lot of really exciting races to watch on the City Council this year,” Kerwin said on RI Public Radio’s Bonus Q&A this week, “and I think it speaks a lot to the culture of politics we’re seeing not just in Rhode Island and in Providence, but across the country. I’m really excited to see Jason Roias, who’s just a couple of years older than myself running, as well as Justice Gaines, who’s also a millennial candidate.” Asked what difference an influx of new councilors could make, Kerwin said, “I think it’s so important to have diversity of opinion, diversity of age and diverse candidates on the City Council, and I think for too long the council has been led by people that have been there for decades. So I think it will be really, really big to see some younger candidates with different and new perspectives come into office.”
6. I got a bracing reminder of how many Rhode Islanders remain disengaged from politics while reporting a story on the primary race between state Rep. Moira Walsh (D-Providence) and challenger Michael Earnheart, the former Trump supporter who won an endorsement later pulled back by the RI Democratic Party. “I’m 65 and I haven’t voted at all ever, never,” Carolyn Hughes told me as she was relaxing outside a high-rise apartment complex on Charles Street. “For me it doesn’t matter who you vote for, because they promise everything they can promise you. Then they don’t do diddly squat.” Of course, other residents in House District 3 do plan to vote, and apprehension about the Trump administration was a concern among a few voters. Yet just 583 people voted in 2016, when Walsh edged her predecessor, Tom Palangio, in a primary, by just 21 votes. That’s only about 4 percent of the more than 14,000 residents in the district.
7. With Gov. Raimondo‘s campaign still sitting on almost $4 million, rivals will continue to try to turn her fundraising edge into a disadvantage. Allan Fung‘s campaign made one such effort this week, with spokesman Andrew Augustus pointing to how a greater percentage of Fung’s fundraising comes from Rhode Island:
Governor Raimondo
2248 Total Contributions, 898 from RI
2142 Individual Donors, 799 from RI
Allan Fung
1057 Total Contributions, 931 from RI
962 Individual Donors, 837 from RI
Raimondo campaign spokeswoman Emily Samsel did not dispute Augustus’ figures. “That said,” she said, “in 2018 to-date, almost 1,600 Rhode Islanders have donated about $1,000,000 to Governor Raimondo, while only about 1,450 (I think — may be lower if you take out PACs) donated to Mayor Fung.”
8. Providence native and former Lincoln Chafee adviser Tad Devine was involved with Paul Manafort in pitching campaign work in Ukraine. Vanity Fair has more, in a story entitled, “What’s a Bernie Sanders Strategist Doing in the Manafort Files?”
9. A plea deal this week involving former state Rep. John Carnevale, on a felony count of perjury, cut short the former Providence lawmaker’s intended comeback. As other have noted, this case underscores the importance of investigative reporting. And five steps played a key role in raising the level of accountability on the lawmaker in 2016: “1) WPRI-TV got the ball rolling with a story indicating Carenvale was misleading either voters or the state Ethics Commission; Carnevale added fuel to the fire by wrapping his face in what he said was a towel — an effort, he said, to fight allergies; 2) The state GOP challenged whether Carnevale actually lived in his district, and vigorously pursued the complaint; 3) Providence police confirmed a tip that Carnevale had asked for parking tickets at his Providence address, a development that proved the last straw for top Democrats like House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello and state party Chairman Joseph McNamara; 4) As the case inched forward, the state Board of Elections made an impactful decision by referring the matter back to the Providence Board of Canvassers, calling on the Canvassers to pursue a wider probe; 5) Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza sent a strong message when he said he was “deeply disappointed” in Canvassers’ Chairwoman Claudia Haugen‘s unwillingness to welcome more testimony and documents. The mayor’s lightning bolt sparked the Canvassers’ tougher posture during the meeting Thursday when they decided Carnevale was not a registered Providence voter.”
10. “6 studies on digital news and social media you should know about“
11. Ward 12 Providence City Council candidate Katherine Kerwin’s day job is as communications director for the RI Coalition Against Gun Violence. There were mixed results on gun issues this year at the General Assembly (with the passing of a ban on bump stocks and a so-called ‘red flag’ bill, and no forward motion on efforts to ban new sales of semiautomatic rifles and to prohibit guns from school buildings. Kerwin nonetheless calls the results a big win for groups such as RICAGV. Looking ahead, she points to the influnce of the youth movement spawned by the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. “And I think we need to continue building of off this youth power,” Kerwin said on Bonus Q&A. “The Coalition Against Gun Violence has been working really closely with Providence Student Union, and Young Voices and other youth-powered-based organizations that are committed to ending violence.”
12. The good news is how ProPublica is funding investigative projects focused on state government. The bad news: “With print advertising continuing to collapse, many local news organizations have seen their newsrooms emptied. As more readers have moved online, many newspapers have cut back on how often they are published. Just two weeks ago, the owner of The Daily News, a stalwart New York tabloid, laid off half of the newsroom. Between 2003 and 2014, there was a 35 percent decline in the number of reporters who cover statehouses, according to a Pew Research Center study — and that trend has only continued.”.
13. RI Poli/Media People on the Move: Caleb Worthen has joined the Rhode Island Republican Party as executive director. In a statement, RI GOP Chairman Brandon Bell said Worthen “has extensive field operations and management experience in campaigns and voter targeting since 2012 when he was regional field director for Romney for President in Colorado. After he served as Utah state field director for Sean Reyes for attorney general he then worked for the Republican National Committee as well as the Republican parties of Colorado, New Hampshire and New York. In his roles as statewide field director and state director, he developed field programs and strategy for targeted races as well as managing volunteers and GOTV operations.” …. Anita (Baffoni) Anderson, who served as press secretary for U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin before joining Langevin’s campaign, is moving to WPRI to produce Dan Yorke State of Mind and to do some reporting. She was a reporter at WPRO before joining Langevin’s staff …. Peter Kerwin recently left a job at the Wisconsin School of Business to become media relations manager at the University of Delaware. Kerwin, the father of Ward 12 Providence City Council candidate Kat Kerwin, is no stranger to Rhode Island, having served in a number of communication roles, including with the secretary of state’s office.
14. Central Falls and Providence are suing the Trump administration’s Justice Department over what they call “new, inappropriate conditions on certain public safety grants for law enforcement.” The mayors say the conditions are inconsistent with promoting public safety in their cities. “At the heart of Central Falls’ turnaround in recent years has been the community-oriented nature of our police department, made, in part, possible by Byrne JAG funding,” Central Falls Mayor James Diossa said in a statement. “We are hopeful that the federal court will order that Central Falls can continue to receive this important funding without the requirement that our police officers become agents of a broken, federal immigration system.”.
15. Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza has issued an updated five-page series of regulations following the emergence of Bird scooters in Rhode Island’s capital city. “The new policy calls for companies like Bird to get city approval before dropping the scooters,” reports RIPR’s Talia Blake. “It also requires $1 per day per scooter paid to the city, that can help pay for bike lanes and sidewalks. Other requirements include ‘tip-over’ sensors that let the company know when a scooter needs to be picked up, and supplying the city with liability insurance.” The invade-the-market-first, then-deal with regulations ethos of some companies is being felt in markets like Boston.
16. RIPR’s Lynn Arditi reports on the fast-track review sought by Partners HealthCare, Care New England and Brown University: “If the request is approved, the Rhode Island Department of Health would have to review the application to take over Rhode Island’s second-largest hospital system within 90 days, as opposed to the usual 120 days. The curtailed review also reduces the amount of documentation the two hospital systems are required to submit as they seek state approval for the deal. And an “expedited” review does not require a public hearing on the application, though state law does provide for a period of public comment, generally in writing. The takeover deal must be reviewed by Rhode Island health regulators with a final decision by the state’s health director, Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott.”
17. Man about town Steve Ahlquist has the video of debates this week, moderated by WPRI-TV’s Dan McGowan, between House District 4 Democrats Mark Tracy and Rebecca Kislak; District 6 Sen. Harold Metts (D-Providence) and Democratic challenger Jonathan Hernandez; and Providence mayoral candidates Kobi Dennis, Jorge Elorza, and Robert DeRobbio.
18. Five degrees of separation between RI’s newspaper of record and tech-visionary Elon Musk: The ProJo is owned by GateHouse Media, which is part of New Media Investment Group, which is externally managed by Fortress Investment Group, which was bought last year by Japan’s SoftBank, which talked with Musk last year about topics such as helping to take car maker Tesla private.
19. How would electing more women change Congress?
20. A down-to-the-wire race played out this week in Kansas, where one of the candidates, Secretary of State Kris Kobach, oversees elections there. As the Times reported, “Now Mr. Kobach, who oversees the state’s elections, finds himself in charge of a closely watched Republican gubernatorial primary that is far too close to call. Just 191 votes separated the two candidates on Wednesday with all precincts reporting. Some mail-in and provisional ballots were yet to be counted. A lengthy recount process seemed likely.” The takeaway, via tweet, from Common Cause of RI’s John Marion: “I’m often asked about the odd division of labor in Rhode Island elections between the state Board of Elections and the Secretary of State. While nothing is perfect, what they’re facing is Kansas right now argues that our system has its merits.”
