RI’s 7 Hottest Political Battles of the Summer

#1

Frias v. Lawton is a Heated Contest to Face Mattiello

When Boston attorney Steven Frias announced his challenge to Speaker Nicholas Mattiello for House District 15, he probably assumed it would be a mano y mano battle, but an anti-vaccine GOP activist with the support of GOP Rep. Patricia Morgan jumped into the race and flipped it upside down.

Republican Shawna Lawton, who heads RI Alliance for Vaccine Choice and is a sales and marketing professional, entered late - and will face a GOP primary Frias. 

Frias a self-proclaimed “Rhode Island Republican leader and prize winning writer” who says the “race presents a clear choice between Speaker Mattiello, the chief defender of Rhode Island's failing status quo, and Frias, an articulate advocate for dramatic reforms to make Rhode Island's economy more prosperous and its government more ethical.”    

In a press release Frias said, "Rhode Island's most powerful politician, Speaker Mattielllo, believes Rhode Island is in 'excellent shape' and that state 'government actually works very well.' Well, I have to disagree.” 

Frias’ Mattiello outrage will have to wait — he has a battle with Lawton first.

#2

Carnevale's Battles Go From Hot to Even Hotter

State Representative John Carnevale is under investigation by just about every level of law enforcement except the Canadian Mounted Police. Right now, the Providence Board of Canvassers and the RI State Police both are actively reviewing the issues relating to Carnevale's voting and holding office in one community, but living in another community.

Now, he is facing a primary challenge this election season by long-time community activist Lisa Scorpio and four other candidates, including Ramon Perez, Joshua Beeman, Anthony Defilippo and David Marshall.

Scorpio is a Providence School Department administrative Executive Assistant and recent Leadership RI alum, running as a Progressive Democrat. 

"I was asked by a number of different groups, and I'm going to run with RI Progressives," said Scorpio. "I believe that we need more control on large capacity weapons, stricter gun laws. I've been very active in the community, this is a natural progression."

#3

Doyle v. Fecteau v. Theroux in Pawtucket Should Be a Scorcher

Embattled Pawtucket incumbent Senator Jamie Doyle is facing two highly respected challengers in the Democratic primary this year.  

One opponent is an officer in the United States Army -- Matt Fecteau just this spring received permission from the U.S. Army to run. Fecteau ran a surprisingly strong race in the Democratic primary in 2014 for Congress in District 1, when he collected 37% of the vote against incumbent David Cicilline.

The other challenger this year v. Doyle is Mark Theroux, a Sergeant in the Pawtucket Police.

Doyle has been besieged by controversies and has battled with local press like the Valley Breeze. Regardless of how vulnerable Doyle maybe, do Fecteau and Theroux cancel each other out Pawtucket District 8 Senate race? Stay tuned. 

#4

Gallison is Not Hot, but the Battle for His Seat is Hotter

While former State Representative (and chair of House Finance) Raymond Gallison resigned on May 3 (and GoLocal wrote “10 Things to Know About Gallison & Federal Investigation”), Rhode Islanders are waiting to hear the reason why the once powerful, now ex-elected official came under investigation by federal authorities. 

The political fallout was quick.  Rep. Marvin Abney immediately took over as Finance Chair, and a month later, the General Assembly’s community service grant program (under which Gallison had received hundreds of thousands of dollars on the staff of Alternative Educational Programming) was dismantled and a number of community groups were left out when funding was placed within the traditional budget process.  Moreover, the General Assembly approved ethics reform to restore the Ethics Commission oversight of legislators, and now the question goes before Rhode Island voters in November.  

With the seat vacant, five candidates declared to fill the post - Antonio Avila (R), Susan Donovan (D), Todd Giroux (D), Eric Hall (R), and Libertarian Analee Berretto. But the question of who succeeds Gallison would most certainly be dwarfed if additional lawmakers are named in any of the findings of the investigation, as rumors swirl that a prostitution scandal is involved. 

#5

Williams' Has a Hot Race

Incumbent Anastasia Williams has fought a lot of battles in her twenty-four year tenure in the General Assembly representing District 9 in Providence.

First elected in 1992, she came under fire in recently for her management of the John Hope Settlement House (which fell victim to the dismantling of the General Assembly community service grant program, losing out on a $300,000 grant it had gotten in the past.  Then, the RI GOP filed an ethics complaint against Williams at the end of May, regarding her “failure to timely disclose her sources of income and her role in an organization that is a prominent recipient of state grants.”

Now, Michael Gazdacko, a West End resident and member of the City Plan Commission, has tossed his hat in the ring to primary Williams.  He’s got John Taraborelli handling his communications, who had been on the winning Elorza campaign team in 2014 before setting up a PR shop along with Robin Dionne. 

Gazdacko’s been in Rhode Island nearly ten years, but is firmly entrenched in the progressive urban community — he’s the Director of Development and Operations for Urban Smart Growth, where he oversees the Hope Artiste Village in Pawtucket and Greystone Lofts in North Providence.  He’s also the board president for TEDx Providence, a board member of the Pawtucket Foundation and worked with Farm Fresh RI to launch the Wintertime Farmer’s Market.

Williams hasn’t faced a primary opponent since 2010, when she easily defeated challenger Wynnel Dcolyn Wilson with 74% of the vote. Whether Gaxdacko can capitalize on the recent political discontent will be seen in September. 

#6

DeSimone v. Ranglin

House Minority Leader John DeSimone has been at the State House nearly 25 years, rising to the rank of House Majority Leader in March 2014, when now Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello was chosen by the Democratic caucus to replace Gordon Fox. 

However, this past year, DeSimone, who represents District 5 in Providence, found himself in the midst of controversy when he found himself on the city’s tax sale list — and he now faces a primary in 2016, which he hasn’t seen since 2010, when he won the Dem ticket with almost 73% of the vote. 

Now, DeSimone finds himself with a primary opponent for the first time since 2010 - from Providence teacher Marcia Ranglin-Vassell, who announced her candidacy on June 27. 

“I know that entering this race is a challenge to the status quo, but sometimes the establishment needs a challenge. I always try to do what I think is right, whether it is easy or not. And titles aside, the truth is our current representative is not fighting for his constituents,” said Ranglin. “I have lived here in our district, on Waite Street, for over 20 years, and I have never met our representative. I do not have a single friend or neighbor who can say he has ever returned their phone calls or emails. I’m sure he is great for the well-connected, for the people who know-a-guy. But he has never been there for families like mine that are working hard and just trying to get by. We need a legislator who is committed to representing all of our community, and that’s why I am in this race.”

#7

Providence Fire is Still The Hottest

Perhaps the most heated contest in the summer of 2016 continues to be the battle of the Providence Firefighters and Mayor Jorge Elorza, more than a year after Elorza reorganized the fire department from four platoons to three — and chaos ensued. 

At least 8 firefighters were injured in a Providence just this week at a house on Orms Street, which marks the latest in a spate of on-duty injuries reported by the department. A 46-page report released in June by Providence fire battalion chiefs outlined a disturbing and dangerous situation in the Providence Fire Department — specifically, the report outlined the lack of staffing in the management structure, lack of resources and improper deployment of staffing, following the Eton Street and Laurel Hill Ave fires on March 31 that injured 26 firefighters. 

The city and the firefighters are still locked in a legal battle from the firefighters' lawsuit regarding the platoon shift changes; the outcome’s ramifications for the city — and its fiscal viability — are enormous. Until then - watch the battle play out between the sides.