In Providence, the tectonic plates of mayoral politics shifted into a
surprisingly potent new configuration. Around the state, self-styled agents of
change lived to fight another day, although some (David N. Cicilline and Matt
Brown) found resounding success while another (Myrth York) just squeaked by.
And the ongoing fallout of the Wendy Collins case lent a toxic touch to those
affiliated with House Speaker John B. Harwood, sparking imminent challenges to
his leadership. Even though eligible voters stayed away in droves, primary day
2002 nonetheless functioned, to cop a phrase from author David Foster Wallace,
as the broom of the system.
In the Republican gubernatorial race, political neophyte Don Carcieri used an
early and sharply focused message of taking on the General Assembly to thrash
Jim Bennett, the endorsed GOP candidate, who had almost won his race for state
treasurer in 1998. Coming off the 67 percent-33 percent victory, Carcieri
emerges as a major force in the November election. Serious ambivalence greeted
the multi-million dollar campaigns of Democratic frontrunners York and Sheldon
Whitehouse, but the greater number of Democratic voters in Rhode Island still
gives York an edge -- if the Democrats can muster a greater degree of unity
than they showed in the aftermath of the September 10 election.
Cicilline, who faces token opposition in the November election, trumped with
dexterity and remarkable ease the establishment expectation that former mayor
Joseph R. Paolino Jr. would return to office. Offering a sharp contrast to
Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci Jr., the progressive four-term state representative
built the foundation of his victory on a groundswell of desire for change, the
changing demographics of the city, and, as evidenced by an early walking
campaign throughout Providence, old-fashioned retail politics. A double punch
of enthusiastic support from the East Side and the more impoverished South Side
propelled Cicilline toward a 52 percent mandate, dimming the electoral
significance of the "golden triangle," the traditionally white ethnic
neighborhoods of Silver Lake, Elmhurst, and Mount Pleasant. Now, however, the
question remains:In a city with staggering problems, can he deliver?
For advocates of democracy and good government, the primary election delivered
a healthy share of welcome results, perhaps even a justifiable amount of
renewed faith that reform begins at the ballot box. Still, the sparse turnout
of voters (slightly more than 27,000 people, for example, participated in the
mayoral election in Providence, a city of 174,000) and the strong influence of
television advertising, particularly in the gubernatorial campaigns, hardly
leave the impression of a vigorous body politic in Rhode Island. Here's a look
at some of the highlights from the primary:
Don Carcieri / Photo by Richard McCaffrey
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Spoilsports
JAMES BENNETT engaged in the most sustained negative advertising
campaign of the primary season, but he never really communicated a compelling
reason for GOP voters to support him. Cutting his losses, Bennett offered a
gracious concession speech after getting drubbed by Carcieri, going on to
announce the end of his political career and even hand a check to his erstwhile
rival during a subsequent GOP unity event in Cranston.
Especially for a first-time candidate, retired businessman Carcieri proved
highly effective in bonding with voters, expressing outrage over the excesses
of the legislature and tapping into the prevailing anti-incumbent mood. "Money
plus message were the keys to the Carcieri victory," says Darrell West, a
political science professor at Brown University. "He put more than a million of
his own money into the campaign, but he also identified a message of reform and
standing up to the General Assembly that resonated well with voters."
On the Democratic side, the importance of the win can't be emphasized enough
for York. After two previously unsuccessful campaigns for governor, a primary
loss this time around would have dashed her political viability. Boosters have
been predicting for months that York's time has come, and although she at times
seems too programmed, her commitment to rock solid Democratic values is
unquestioned. Still, even after successful co-opting the theme of change and
dropping $2.4 million with the guidance of Washington political consultants
Mandy Grumwald and Marla Romash, York was only able to raise her 35 percent
base to 39 percent of the Democratic primary vote -- a less than overwhelming
endorsement from the voters.
York didn't hesitate to point out how she attracted about 30,000 more tallies
than Carcieri. As noted by Maureen Moakley, a professor of political science at
the University of Rhode Island, "The fact that he got almost 70 percent of
17,000 votes suggests that he's got a way to go." While York retains an
advantage, "she's going to have to stay way in the center," Moakley says, since
the condition of the economy and her legislative voting record could prove to
be a liability. The professor expects York to attempt to exploit Carcieri's
corporate record, "and they're each going to have to spend an awful lot of
money."
At any rate, the Republicans' rush to make nice after the election stands in
contrast to a Democratic unity event at the Providence Westin on Saturday,
September 14, when York was the only one of the party's three gubernatorial
candidates to show up. Campaign manager Bill Fischer represented Whitehouse,
who was vacationing. But state representative Tony Pires, whose unexpectedly
strong 23 percent showing probably cost Whitehouse the election, doesn't appear
to be in any hurry to endorse the three-time Democratic standard-bearer. "What
she needs is a unified Democratic party," notes West. "If he [Whitehouse] sits
on his hands, that poses a problem."
The primary loss seems like a bitter blow for Whitehouse, who was unable to
translate the experience of his impressive resume into a victory. Unpretentious
and humorous in one-to-one conversation, the attorney general retained
something of an aristocratic bearing when viewed from a distance. But as H.
Philip West, executive director of Common Cause of Rhode Island, says, "I think
anyone who would count Sheldon Whitehouse out as a future gubernatorial
prospect would be foolish, especially if Carcieri wins this election."
If anyone came out of the Democratic race surprisingly well, it was Pires. A
pauper in contrast to Whitehouse and York, he was seriously under-funded, but
nonetheless proved to be an important force in the Democratic primary,
attracting a significant share of true believers and protest votes. Pires, who
broke with Harwood after being ousted from his chairmanship of the House
Finance Committee last year, could be well positioned for another gubernatorial
run or a prominent place in a York administration. "Pires would make a great
administration department director," says Darrell West. "He knows more about
state government than anyone else."
Don't be so negative
WITH THE EXCEPTION of the GOP gubernatorial contest, the prevalent
contemporary trope of negative advertising was largely absent from the local
primary season. And when candidates did go negative, it was frequently through
the targeted and more surreptitious approach of direct mail.
The Providence mayoral campaign of Joseph R. Paolino, for example, didn't air
any explicitly negative television commercials, although one oft-repeated radio
spot tried to have it both ways, saying the campaign could cite bad stuff about
the three other Democrats, but would refrain from doing so. The Paolino
campaign, however, did unleash a negative last-minute direct mail piece in
which Ward Five Councilman Patrick K. Butler served as a surrogate to attack
Cicilline as two different people -- one who supports reform and another who
defends criminals (never mind that even some of the state's most prominent
political figures sometimes need a criminal-defense lawyer). State Senator
David V. Igliozzi also employed direct mail, among other means, as the most
zealous progenitor of negative advertising during the campaign.
Still, the discourse of the Providence mayoral candidates took place almost
entirely around the issues. "I think most of the candidates decided to stay
positive because they know voters wanted to see their vision for the future and
didn't want to see them tearing down their opponents," says Brown's Darrell
West. "I think it's part of the new era that's emerging in Providence."
No one exemplified this trend more than Cicilline. Although he used mailings
and radio commercials to respond to rivals' attacks, the Democratic mayoral
victor didn't launch a single piece of negative advertising.
Broadcast news
THE LOCAL TELEVISION affiliates, which reaped lots of revenue from political
advertising, were arguably among the biggest winners of the primary season.
Darrell West estimates that two-thirds
of campaign expenses typically
go for
television advertising. Just between their own campaigns, York and
Whitehouse accounted for about $4.5 million in overall spending, so this
translates into a lot of cash for the local affiliates of ABC, NBC, and CBS.
As a single advertising market for television, Rhode Island remains relatively
cheap in comparison to most other states. This does little to assuage
observers, such as Common Cause's Phil West, who believe the manipulated
messages of political advertising have a far greater influence than the
relatively limited amount of time devoted by the affiliates to meaningful
political coverage. "TV has abdicated its responsibility to cover the news,
taking money hand over fist," says West. "I think we have a real issue here."
Lisa Churchville, general manager of WJAR-TV (Channel 10) describes the
criticism as misplaced, saying that critics like West consider only a narrow
slice of evening broadcast time. "Not only have we done a magnificent job of
covering the issues relevant to voters in the four-and-a-half hours of news [we
have] each day, on top of that we have added several hours of
candidate-centered discourse a week, in the weeks prior to the election," she
says. Channel 10 runs "a ton" of public service announcements encouraging
people to vote, Churchville says, and Rhode Island broadcasters are the largest
donors to Vote for America, the civic effort formerly known as the Democracy
Compact.
Without a doubt, PSAs emphasizing the importance of voting and donations to
organizations that foster democracy are good things. However, it seems likely
that the amount of political coverage watched by the average television viewer
more closely resembles the slice described by West than the full plate cited by
Churchville.
The Harwood factor
SINCE BECOMING speaker in 1993, John B. Harwood, widely considered the most
powerful man in state government, has largely been able to act with impunity.
But after weathering a series of controversies in recent years -- including the
appointment of his wife, Patricia Lynch Harwood, to a $100,000 state court job,
and his representation of clients as a private lawyer before state agencies --
the autocratic speaker has become an unmitigated political liability.
The proof can be seen in how Matt Brown decisively beat Edward S. Inman III in
the Democratic primary for secretary of state. A civic activist and first-time
candidate, Brown ran an aggressive campaign and outspent Inman, a former state
representative who was elevated by legislative colleagues to fill the unexpired
term of former secretary of state James R. Langevin, by several times. But most
observers attribute Inman's loss to his affiliation as a former member of
Harwood's leadership team.
"The primary was a referendum on Harwood and Harwood lost the referendum,"
says Brown's Darrell West. "His candidate for secretary of state was defeated,
and several gubernatorial candidates ran ads at his expense. Several General
Assembly opponents were reelected," including, most notably, state
Representatives David Caprio (D-Narragansett), Elizabeth M. Dennigan (D-East
Providence), and Donald O. Reilly Jr. (D-Cumberland).
Adds Common Cause's Phil West, who has long been critical of the power of the
speaker's office, "A number of people who were brave enough to stand up when
John Harwood's power seemed unassailable have come out in the end. In fact,
they have used his counterattack as an appeal to the voters and succeeded with
that."
Certainly, Harwood's opponents owe a debt of gratitude to former legislative
worker Wendy Collins, whose mysterious settlement from the state sparked
unflattering headlines about the speaker in the weeks before the primary and
expedited forthcoming challenges to his leadership. It was portentous indeed
when state Representative Paul Moura, a member of Harwood's team as senior
deputy majority leader, called WPRO-AM on Tuesday, September 17, to announce
that he'd be meeting later that day with the speaker and anticipated changes in
the House leadership. "We heard the voice of the people," Moura told Steve Kass
and Buddy Cianci. "We need to bring the people's House back to the House."
There's no shortage of candidates who would like to succeed Harwood as
speaker. Harwood's faction includes Representatives Robert E. Flaherty
(D-Warwick), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, William J. Murphy
(D-West Warwick), and Rene Menard (D-Lincoln). Candidates outside of the
speaker's circle include Caprio, Dennigan, and Representative Frank Montanaro
(D-Cranston). State Senator Bill Enos (D-Tiverton), a majority whip under
former Senate Majority Leader Paul Kelly, has a strong knowledge of the
legislative process, Phil West notes, and since he's running for a House seat
after being gerrymandered in the Senate, Enos "could be a formidable force
independent of the leadership team."
Forward on separation of powers
THE WANING of Harwood's power and the growing momentum in recent years for
establishing separation of powers -- the traditional checks and balances
typical of American government -- hardly seem to be isolated events. Certainly,
consternation over Harwood's autocratic style of leadership, as well as the
remarkable power invested in the office of the speaker, appear to have steeled
the will of reformers. The Wendy Collins controversy put the pot on boil, but
the current threat to Harwood's leadership can also be interpreted as the
inevitable result of a surfeit of political hubris.
"The point is, the power of the speaker has always been excessive, back
to colonial times," says Common Cause's Phil West, continuing through John A.
Bevilacqua, Matty Smith, and Joseph DeAngelis.
For critics, Rhode Island is an anomaly in which the checks and balances
typical of the American system of government simply don't work (See "Unbridled
power," News, September 28, 2001). Put simply, the General Assembly is able to
execute laws through a network of agencies, which it creates and to which it
appoints members. In a practical way, this is seen as an invitation to the
conflicts of interest and absence of accountability -- such as the banking
crisis of the early '90s -- that have repeatedly tarnished Rhode Island's
history.
Although Harwood has repeatedly acted to block the forward momentum of
separation of powers legislation in the House, the primary results have eroded
the strength of his position. Fourteen of the 21 House primary winners signed
pledges with the Rhode Island Separation of Powers Committee (RISOP), a new
advocacy group, and six incumbents who supported Harwood and voted against
considering separation of powers were defeated. "In general, candidates for
state office who supported SOP won, candidates who opposed SOP lost," RISOP
president Bruce Lang said in a statement. "There's a clear lesson here for
candidates in November."
Now, with the Senate firmly in favor of SOP and representatives maneuvering to
challenge Harwood, the focus of reformers will shift to seeking a speaker who
backs the placement of an SOP question on the 2004 ballot. It doesn't hurt that
both York and Carcieri are strong supporters of the reform position, and
Providence Journal editorial columnist Ed Achorn has been an unstinting
SOP supporter on the paper's op-ed page. West hopes for separation of powers
legislation to pass in the 2002-2003 legislative session, rather than a year
later, "so everyone knows it's on the [2004] ballot."
Although the full effect might take two generations to see, bringing
separation of powers to Rhode Island seems likely to lessen patronage and
insider deals, strengthen the two-party system, foster greater competition for
elective office and better government at all levels. For now, reformers like
West can scarcely believe the rapid pace of progress. "If anyone told me last
September that we'd be where we are today," he says, "I would have said, 'I
hope you're right, but you're more optimistic than I am.' "
Quonset Point
GOVERNOR LINCOLN ALMOND's pet project -- some might say obsession -- of
establishing a container port at Quonset Point is likely to take on a different
focus after the two-term governor leaves office in January. Although Quonset
Point is a logical place for economic development, Myrth York and Don Carcieri
have long been outspoken in describing the initial $1.5 million environmental
impact study (EIS) for a container port as a poor use of the taxpayers' dollars
(see "Point of uncertainty," News, July 26, 2001). Almond's allocation of an
additional $1.42 million for the EIS, reported September 17 by the
Providence Journal, seems little more than a perpetuation of the
outgoing governor's wishful thinking.
First things first
AS DIFFICULT AS it was to predict the winner of the three-way Republican
primary in the First Congressional District, most observers gave the eventual
victor little likelihood of unseating US Representative Patrick J. Kennedy.
Nonetheless, the crown prince of the Kennedy clan and his GOP rival, David
Rogers, appear to be taking nothing for granted, preparing for a bloody
fight.
Rogers has been running hard since before the primary was over, highlighting
his military experience and trying to make hay at Kennedy's expense. A former
Navy SEAL who now works as a technical analyst in the petroleum analyst, he
bested his two primary opponents, Mike Battles and Christine Ferguson, in part
by assembling a much larger war chest with a direct mail pitch to
Kennedy-haters across the nation. Kennedy enjoys some big advantages -- in name
recognition, campaign fundraising, and the ability, as a member of the powerful
House Appropriations Committee, to deliver for Rhode Island -- but he shows no
signs of complacency.
Kennedy made the rounds of Democratic victory parties on primary night. He's
already aired a television commercial targeting older voters with a message
about the importance of prescription drug reform. And Kennedy, who has
distanced himself from his old ally, House Speaker John B. Harwood, was the
recent beneficiary of a Bristol fundraiser featuring US Senator Hillary
Clinton.
Viva democracy
THE COLORFUL and outrageous figures of the Ocean State notwithstanding, Rhode
Island seems typical among American states in manifesting a profound amount of
political apathy. The way in which less than 25 percent of the state's
population voted in the primary raises the question, as Common Cause's Phil
West says, "At what point does democracy become not viable? I'm not the first
person to make the point, but at what point does the government lack
legitimacy, because too few people participated in its creation?"
Newcomers, though, sometimes offer fresh appreciation for neglected American
traditions, and the emergence of Latinos as an important political bloc in
Providence is a case in point. "There was low turnout, but that was true across
the state," says Brown's Darrell West. "The Latino vote does stand out,
however. I think Latinos have emerged as a major force in city politics."
Although Latinos still constitute a small percentage of the overall vote in the
city, ongoing assimilation offers the prospect of greater civic vitality. The
beneficiaries include not just candidates, like David N. Cicilline, Miguel
Luna, and Juan Pichardo, who aggressively courted the Latino vote, but the
entire body politic.
A few reports suggested the emerging Latino vote was some sort of spontaneous
development. But activist Matthew Jerzyk, who managed Luna's primary victory
over Councilwoman Patricia Nolan in Providence's Ward Nine, says the victories
by Cicilline, Pichardo, and Luna stemmed from nothing so much as aggressive,
grassroots organizing by 100 volunteers. "People don't necessarily vote because
they're civic-minded Americans," Jerzyk says. "They vote because they're
door-knocked three times and someone shows up to pick them up [and give them a
ride to the polls]."
In Ward Nine, which has the highest concentration of minority residents in the
city, "We convinced thousands of people that voting was the way to change their
neighborhood," Jerzyk says, "and people came out in droves to do that."
Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis[a]phx.com.
Issue Date: September 20 - 26, 2002
