Rhode Island House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello attracted enough support during a Democratic caucus Thursday to retain his powerful post. But almost one-third of the House of Representatives’ 75 members voted against him, and his critics said the House will remain divided if Mattiello doesn’t take steps they view as necessary to improve the legislative process.
Mattiello hailed his support, indicated during a closed meeting at the Chapel Grille restaurant in Cranston, and said it validates his focus on jobs and the economy.
The formal election for speaker takes place on the first day of the General Assembly session, set for January 1.
The speaker said he will reach out to the 21 reps and reps-elect who voted against him to address their concerns. But the opponents said Mattiello gave them no assurances he will take their grievances seriously.
“We’re not looking for a cult of personality,” said Rep. Teresa Tanzi (D-South Kingstown). “We’re looking for difference. How easy would it have been for the speaker in there tonight to say, ‘Those are all really great ideas’? ‘I can be the champion of them.’ And something as simple as these reform options are not even something he’s willing to embrace and endorse.”
The bloc of 21 Democrats who voted against Mattiello say the legislative process in the House demands more openness and transparency. Some of the complaints: bills die in committee if lawmakers don’t agree with the speaker; too much legislation is passed at the end of session; the speaker is vindictive; lawmakers and citizens lack adequate time to review changes to bills before they get voted.
Mattiello, flanked by his lieutenants, described his leadership style as collaborative and suggested his opponents are expressing sour grapes.
“When someone doesn’t support you individually, all of a sudden the process is badly broken,” he told reporters after emerging from the caucus. “And when they did support me they were all very much part of the process and supportive of it.”
Moving ahead, Mattiello said, “I’m planning on listening to everyone. I will tell you that we had 44 solid votes. The story is I’ve got enough votes to be re-elected speaker even with a coordinated attack on me. It seems as though the folks that didn’t vote against me are all progressives, and it’s been coordinated – it was coordinated before my election and it was designed to affect the election.”
But the speaker’s opponents said the progressive label is a false description, and that they more accurately reflect a cross-section of the state. “We are conservatives, we are moderates, we are progressive Democrats,” Fogarty said. “We are Rhode Island. We represent the wealthy, the middle class and the distressed neighborhoods across this state.”
Rep. Kathleen Fogarty of South Kingstown said a vote for Mattiello as speaker “is a vote for non-transparency in a non-open chamber. Rhode Islanders wanted comprehensive reform. The way things are currently being done isn’t working.”
Moving ahead, she said, “You’ll probably see a lot more ‘no’ votes. You’re probably going to see a lot more people freer to talk on the floor and say what they truly believe and speak up for their constituents.”
Mattiello rejected the idea of a divided House, although he acknowledged he may need to attract more support to win enough votes to pass a budget toward the end of the 2019 session.
“I don’t think we have a divided house,” he said. “There’s a long time between now and when the budget passes …. Ask me that some time in March or April … We’re going to build our caucus and we’ll be fine.”
Those opposing Mattiello included three committee chairs, Rep. Art Handy (Cranston), chair of the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee; Fogarty, chair of the Municipal Government Committee; and Rep. Deborah Ruggiero (Jamestown), chair of the Small Business Committee.
The other ‘no’ votes came from Reps. Edith Ajello of Providence; Joseph Almeida of Providence; Rep.–Elect Laufton Ascencao of Bristol; Rep.–Elect Justine Caldwell of East Greenwich; Rep. Lauren Carson of Newport; Rep.–Elect Liana Cassar of Barrington; Rep.–Elect Terri Cortvriend of Portsmouth; Reps. Susan Donovan of Bristol, Raymond Hull of Providence; Katherine Kazarian of East Providence; Rep.–Elect Rebecca Kislak of Providence; Reps Jason Knight of Barrington; John Lombardi of Providence; Carol McEntee of South Kingstown; Mary Messier of Pawtucket, Marcia Ranglin-Vassell of Providence; Teresa Tanzi of South Kingstown, and Moira Walsh of Providence.
Mattiello became speaker in 2014, after Gordon Fox resigned amid a corruption probe. The Cranston Democrat initially attracted broad support, but critics have become more vocal over the 2018 session.
Although punishing opponents is a tradition at the Statehouse, Mattiello seemed surprised when a reporter asked if the lawmakers who voted against him may be stripped of committee assignments or other things: “I don’t know where that’s coming from.”
While acknowledging that improvements in the legislative process are possible, Mattiello said some of the changes sought by his critics would require extending the General Assembly year, which usually ends in June, by two or three months. The opponents say the early months of the session are characterized by a low level of activity and that more could be accomplished then.
Rep. Lombardi, who would like to succeed Mattiello, suggested things could change with the challenge to Mattiello before the new legislative session starts January 1. “It’s not over yet,” he said. “January will tell the tale.”
But if Mattiello’s leadership prevails with the formal vote for speaker during the start of the 2019 session, his critics say they will remain true to their ideals.
“We are going to be the reformists and the watchdogs,” Ruggiero said, “and making sure that the people’s business gets done properly at the Statehouse.”
