State Democratic Chairman Joseph McNamara said Tuesday that embattled state Rep. John Carnevale should reconsider his decision to seek re-election.
“Representative Carnevale has been an embarrassment to the House of Representatives and the General Assembly,” McNamara said in a telephone interview from Philadelphia, where he’s attending the Democratic National Convention. “I as Democratic chair don’t have the ability to mandate or pull him out of the race, but I would say this: I think it’s time for him to reconsider his candidacy.”
McNamara said his view is “just due to the course of events that have been embarrassing to the House of Representatives and the Rhode Island General Assembly.”
In related news, the Providence Board of Canvassers is slated to hold two days of hearings, starting at 3 pm Wednesday, to probe further whether Carnevale lives within his Providence legislative district.
On Monday night, the state Board of Elections indicated it wants the Canvassers to settle that question before deciding challenges to Carnevale’s place on the ballot. The Elections Board set a Friday deadline for getting an answer.
State Sen. John Pagliarini, a lawyer for the Rhode Island Republican Party, has indicated he wants to subpoena tenants from Carnevale’s Providence home and to examine tax and insurance documents related to the lawmaker’s properties in Providence and Johnston.
The remarks by state Democratic chairman McNamara, who is also a state rep from Warwick, mark part of a growing drumbeat of criticism of Carnevale.
On Monday, House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello parted with the four-term rep, calling his behavior unacceptable, and indicating that he’ll be stripped of his role as House Finance vice chairman if Carnevale wins re-election in November.
Meanwhile, the Providence Journal used a sharply worded editorial to call on Carnevale to step down as a state rep.
The Providence lawmaker, who declined comment Tuesday on McNamara’s remarks, has maintained he lives in his legislative district. He faces three Democratic opponents in the September primary.
Criticism of Carnevale intensified following a report last week that he asked Providence police to give him parking tickets at his Providence address.
This post has been updated.
