The speaker of the House is often called the most powerful elected official in state government. That’s because the speaker controls the flow of legislation in the House and has a lot of influence over the state budget. But just like a rank and file lawmaker, the speaker has to win re-election every two years.This time around, Republican rival Steven Frias is offering a stiff challenge to Democratic House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello.
Daylight is fading as Steven Frias scouted for votes on a recent weekday evening in suburban western Cranston.
“Hi there, sir, how are ya?” Frias asked a homeowner. “How ya doin’?” the resident responds.Listen to the audio version of the story on the race between Steven Frias and Nicholas Mattiello.
The November 8 election is coming up fast. Here’s how the Republican challenger makes his pitch against House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello: “Hi, my name is Steve Frias. I’m running for state representative against Speaker Mattiello. I’m about growing the economy and cleaning up the Statehouse. And so I just wanted to come by, answer any questions you have and introduce myself, and I hope you vote for me in November.”
The resident accepts a leaflet from Frias, but remains non-committal. Frias estimates he’s knocked on the doors of more than 5,000 households since early July.
“We’re getting down to the nitty-gritty here, where I got to find the voters who just haven’t made up their minds or haven’t met me, and give them a chance to meet me and to give them up more information, so that they can come to a good decision, hopefully in my favor,” he said.
This is what’s called retail politics, and it’s vital in this race — in part since Speaker Mattiello’s campaign war chest dwarfs that of his Republican opponent. But winning over voters with a quick chat on their doorstop isn’t easy. Frias said dogs greet him so often that he feels like the postman. He presses on while making his second visit with Jim Maggiacomo. This time, Maggiacomo tells Frias he’ll definitely support him.
“I just think the incumbents in the Statehouse are a little too comfortable,” the Cranston resident said. “And I think it’s time we send a message to them that, you know, they work for the people of Rhode Island, not for themselves, and change is good.”
Frias is 44 and he works as a lawyer for a Boston law firm. He settled with his wife in Cranston after finishing college and law school.
Frias said he’s running against Speaker Mattiello because Rhode Island needs lower taxes to be more competitive with other states. He wants to repeal the tolls planned for big trucks, and instead pay for improving bridges by reducing state spending. He backs reform measures like a line-item veto, term limits, and more transparency on legislative grants.
Frias said if he topples the powerful House speaker, it would send a shockwave through the Statehouse: “That sends a huge message to these people up there, they say, you got to get your act together, you have to get serious about ethics, you have to get serious about making us more competive with states like Massachusetts.”
Political observers consider the race between Frias and Mattiello to be competitive. That’s due in part to lingering discontent among voters about Statehouse controversies and Rhode Island’s underperforming economy.
But not everyone thinks an upset win by Frias would make more than a ripple at the Statehouse. The Providence Journal endorsed Speaker Mattiello, pointing to what the newspaper called a record of accomplishment. The ProJo asserted that Frias would have little impact as part of a tiny Republican caucus in the legislature.
For his part, Speaker Mattiello rejects the idea that Frias’ challenge amounts to a referendum on the status quo. The 53-year-old lawyer says he’s had a positive impact since taking over as speaker in 2014.
“Some will say we’re not perfect and we’re not,” Mattiello said. “We started at a low place when I became speaker, but we’re moving in the right direction more dynamically than ever before. I don’t remember a speaker who’s cut taxes like me.”
Mattiello picked up on the tax-cutting theme during a recent news conference at the Taco manufacturing company in Cranston: “We eliminated sales tax on utility costs for businesses, we eliminated a radiology tax, we eliminated Rhode Island taxation on Social Security income, we created a $15,000 exemption for retirement income.”
Mattiello used the news conference to make an unusual announcement for the legislative off-session: he plans to cut the unpopular car tax. The speaker went on to say that changing state government requires steady effort, and that it’s just not realistic to make huge changes overnight.
“Because of our constitutional requirement to balance our budget, you attack one problem at a time,” he said. “And since I was first speaker, each session we’ve eliminated one or two taxes. We’ve given priority to certain ethics reforms.”
Those reforms include eliminating the master lever. Mattiello was initially lukewarm about giving voters the chance to strengthen the state Ethics Commission. But he supported the move after House Finance Chairman Ray Gallison resigned earlier this year, in the wake of an ongoing law enforcement investigation.
Republicans point to these kinds of ethics controversies in citing the need for change at the Statehouse. Mattiello responds by saying he’s not responsible for the actions of Gallison or a Providence state rep, John Carnevale, who was found not to be a legal resident of his district.
“If you’re running against someone that has a good record of accomplishment, I think you just have to try to smear them and that’s what they’re trying to do,” Mattiello said. “Throw as much stuff at the wall, try to distract the voters, take their attention off what’s important.”
What’s important in conservative-leaning House District 15 may be a little different than some other parts of the state. One wildcard is how support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will affect the battle between Frias and Mattiello. Some houses in the district display lawn signs for Mattiello and Trump. Frias, meanwhile, holds a leadership post in the state Republican Party and he says that obligates him to vote for Trump.
Like Frias, Mattiello is making his pitch by knocking on the doors of voters.
The truck tolls planned to pay for bridge improvements come up as an issue at the home of Stephen and Ronnie Sirota. Mattiello responds by saying the per-mile cost for trucks will remain less in Rhode Island even with tolls than in other states. He said critics are spreading inaccurate information: “You know, the threat is, trucks today, cars tomorrow. We put in the legislation no tolls on cars without a vote of the people. That’s a real protection. We’re not going to toll cars.”
Meanwhile, another issue emerged in the race between Frias and Mattiello over the weekend. An online chat shows that the GOP candidate defeated by Frias in the September primary, Shawna Lawton, endorsed Mattiello after Lawton said she was assured of progress on one of her key issues, a vaccine requirement for school children, at the Statehouse.
Mattiello’s campaign said the speaker never met with Lawton, and that her online comments do not reflect the actual conversation she had with an adviser to the speaker.
An independent candidate, Patrick Vallier, is also on the ballot in House District 15, but he doesn’t appear to be actively campaigning. Voters will decide the outcome of the high-stakes race featuring Speaker Mattiello and Steven Frias one week from today.
