Top Ten RI General Assembly Races to Watch in 2014
GoLocalProv News Team and Kate Nagle
Top Ten RI General Assembly Races to Watch in 2014
Rhode Island primaries are now just six weeks away, and some General Assembly incumbents are facing fierce challenges from both outside -- and inside -- their parties, while other open seats promise to be hotly contested races to watch.
See Top Ten GA Races to Watch in 2014 BELOW
"I think in my humble opinion, there has been a shift, just because we have a new speaker, he's more of a moderate, and people have recognized such a shift," said community activist Sandy Riojas. "It will be interesting to see how progressives hold on."
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTParsing the House
Of those, only five races are contested since Pawtucket School Committeeman Coughlin is running unopposed for Coderre's seat.
"The most competitive race we see this year is in House District 26 in which Nick Denice (D) will be challenging Rep. Patricia Morgan (R)," said Jonathan Boucher with the Rhode Island Democratic Party. "'Nick is a great candidate with a great background and came just a few hundred votes short of winning the seat in 2012. With that said, there are only 5 other GOP held seats up for grabs in very conservative districts."
Representative Spencer Dickinson (D), who is facing a strong challenge once again from inside the party from Kathy Fogarty, spoke to what he saw as the dynamics facing his race.
"I ran unendorsed the last two times. It is no secret that Gordon Fox and his Chief of Staff, Frank Anzeveno, wanted me out of the State House," said Dickinson. "First they carried out an extreme redistricting plan where they took away the neighborhoods where I had done best. Anzeveno had hired Kathy's husband, Brendon. Brendon's job that summer, as a member of the Speaker's staff, was to get me out of office. I didn't appreciate the fact that my tax dollars (and yours) were being spent to get Kathy elected. The kicker was that Anzeveno showed up to work at my polling place as a volunteer for Kathy on election day. That didn't work out for them, but I had the compliment of knowing I was Gordon Fox's number one priority."
Dickinson, who said he would "rather have the party endorsement, but it is what it is," in facing Fogarty once again this year.
Eye on the Money
Marion said Common Cause would be keeping a close eye to spending in the big races.
"With the U.S. Supreme Court's McCutcheon decision earlier this year we will be looking to see if anyone has exceeded the now defunct aggregate $10,000 limit in Rhode Island. In the past the Speaker was one of the few people who approached that limit and it will be interesting to see whether the removal of the limit means the new Speaker, or anyone else, tries to spread even more money among legislative candidates," said Marion.
Top Ten RI General Assembly Races to Watch in 2014
House District 4
Providence
Current Member: Rep. Gordon Fox (D)
Status: OPEN
Departing former Speaker of the House Gordon Fox might have held arguably the state's most powerful top post since 2010, but his tenure representing the Mt. Hope-to-Blackstone swath of the East Side dates all the way back to 1992, before he stepped down this past spring following the state's first ever raid on a State House office.
Now, challenging for his seat are three Democrats and an Independent, one of whom was hardly out of diapers when Fox first walked the marble halls -- progressive activist Aaron Regunberg, who started the Providence Student Union. Democratic opponent Heather Tow-Yick launched Teach for America - RI in her native Providence, and like Regunberg is a Brown graduate. Lawyer and SBA 2012 Woman in Business award-winner for New England Democrat Miriam Ross and independent environmental engineer Ethan Gyles round out the crowded field, which will see the winner of the Democratic primary face Gyles in the general.
House District 41
Cranston
Current Member: Rep. Michael Marcello (D)
Status: FACING CHALLENGER (General Election)
Rep. Michael Marcello (D), who mounted a campaign to gain the Speakership following Fox's departure, is facing perhaps his strongest challenger since getting elected in 2008 in Republican Lillian Delmonico, who is a current member of the Scituate School Committee.
The District was Republican for many years -- the seat was held by Republican Carol Mumford for ten years. Watch for this pivotal race -- as well as who comes to Marcello's aid from the party.
House District 34
Narragansett-South Kingstown
Current Member: Rep. Teresa Tanzi (D)
Status: FACING CHALLENGER (General Election)
Former Fox ally and progressive Rep.Teresa Tanzi (D), who was recently a delegate to the first White House Summit on Working Families, is being challenged by Republican Stephen Tetzner, who is in the mortgage business, well-funded, and intent on proving his base of support.
50 signatures are required for a candidate to appear on the ballot, and Tetzner dwarfed all other signature gatherers with over 400.
House District 35
South Kingstown
Current Member: Rep. Spencer Dickinson (D)
Status: FACING CHALLENGER (Primary)
Rep. Spencer Dickinson is facing repeat challenger Kathleen Fogarty, a former member of the South Kingstown Town Council who lost to Dickinson in a close primary contest two years ago.
Dickinson was an outspoken critic of paying back the 38 Studios bond debt during the 2014 session, when he advocated that the state rely on the insurance policy taken out, rather than pay back the bonds, which is what leadership ultimately decided to do. Dickinson was recently passed over for the party's endorsement -- and spoke with GoLocal as to his views on the possible rationale.
The winner of the Democratic primary will face Republican Lacey McGreevy in the general election.
House District 7
Providence
Current Member: Rep. Maria Cimini (D)
Status: FACING CHALLENGER (Primary)
In the Speaker shakeup from perceived progressive Fox to the more conservative Mattiello -- who was recently a guest speaker at the RI Taxpayer annual meeting -- progressive incumbent Rep. Maria Crimini is facing a heated primary from more-moderate lawyer Daniel McKiernan.
Cimini, who was first elected in 2010, is a coordinator for the Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America -- and received the highest grade in the General Assembly on the 2012 Common Cause Legislative Scorecard, based on a two-year voting record of a number of government reform issues.
House District 12
Providence
Current Member: Rep. Joe Almeida (D)
Status: FACING CHALLENGER (Primary)
Deputy Majority Whip Joseph Almeida, a retired Providence cop, is facing a primary challenge in the party by Anthony Roberson, a current Providence police detective -- and the winner will face independent Luis Vargas Rivera in the general.
It's a tall order for the thirteen year veteran state Representative who now faces an inter-party adversary in the way of Roberson, so plan to keep watch of who prevails in this race.
House District 22
Warwick
Current Member: Rep. Frank Ferri (D)
Status: OPEN
The battle for progressive State Rep Frank Ferri's seat (as Ferri is running for Lt. Governor) will see a Democratic duel between Jennifer Siciliano and Joe Solomon, Jr -- cousin of Providence City Council President and Providence Mayoral candidate Michael Solomon.
The winner will face Republican Ralph Leone, so look to see which way this Warwick race goes -- whoever wins, it will mean a new face for sure in the State House come January.
House District 28
Pawtucket
Current Member: Rep. William San Bento (D)
Status: OPEN
The void by the retirement of veteran legislator and Deputy Majority Leader WIlliam San Bento will see a Democratic primary pitting Carlos Tobin -- who mounted a legal challenge in 2012 in a too-close-to-count race against San Bento that ultimately saw the incumbent prevail -- and challenger Joseph Clark, who snagged the endorsement in the race.
The winner will face Independent Jonathan Vallecilla.
House District 26
West Warwick/Coventry/Warwick
Current Member: Rep. Patricial Morgan (R)
Status: FACING CHALLENGER (General Election)
Republican incumbent Rep. Patricia Morgan is being challenged once again by Nicholas Denice, an attorney who came close to knocking off Morgan last time, losing by roughly 250 votes.
Watch to see if Denice can succeed in representing perhaps the Democrats' best chance of taking out an incumbent House Republican -- there are only 6 Republican House members to begin with, and only 4 are being challenged this election.
Senate District 7
Current Member: Sen. Frank Ciccone III (D)
Challenger: Doris De Los Santos
12 year incumbent Frank Ciccone will face veteran political operative Doris De Los Stantos in a Democratic primary -- with no other challengers on the ballot.
The battle between old Providence and new will play out at the polls -- and while DeLos Santos might be newcomer to running, she's been in the political game for some time, having been President of the state's Latino PAC and Latino Civic Fund, and worked in Governor Chafee's administration.
