In a victory for the progressive flank of the Rhode Island Democratic Party, Joe DeLorezno, the party’s embattled second vice chairman, has disaffiliated as a Democrat, and Central Falls Mayor James Diossa was appointed to succeed him.
“This has been a difficult time in state party politics, when one of our leaders made unacceptably insensitive statements about sexual harassment, dismissing a state representative’s experience and that of many women in our society,” Democratic Party Chairman Joseph McNamara said in a statement Thursday. “This is an issue Democratic leaders have fought to combat.”
McNamara said he appointed Diossa to replace DeLorenzo, adding, “Mayor Diossa exemplifies the future of this great party. Elected at the age of 27, he was one of the youngest mayors in our state’s history. He took the city of Central Falls — which was on the edge of bankruptcy — back to a strong, vibrant and growing urban center.”
Diossa became the first Latino mayor of predominantly Latino Central Falls when he first won election in 2012.
The move comes after the party’s Women’s Caucus led an effort to call an emergency meeting to dispel DeLorenzo, who sparked a firestorm by disparaging progressives and questioning a state rep’s account of experiencing sexual harassment.
“In the aftermath of this, state Party 2nd Vice Chair Joseph DeLorenzo has issued an apology, and today, disaffiliated as a member of the Rhode Island Democratic Party,” McNamara said. “He is, therefore, not eligible to serve as a member or officer of the Rhode Island Democratic Party State Committee.”
Democratic Party bylaws call for the gender of the second vice chair to be opposite that of the first vice chair.
This post has been updated.
