TALKING POLITICS Assembly Dems assert control in standoff with Carcieri BY BRIAN C. JONES

The dramatic veto showdown on a hot afternoon last Friday, July 23, between Republican Governor Donald L. Carcieri and General Assembly Democrats established two mileposts. One was how far Carcieri has come in proving himself a forceful player in state politics, less than two years into his term. The other shows how far Carcieri still has to go in outmatching the legislative Democrats.

Certainly, the governor forced the Dems to endure summer sweatshop conditions and hours of absurd speechmaking to confront vetoes of the state budget and a proposed gambling casino. Further, there was considerable suspense in how the legislative votes would turn out, which itself is an accomplishment for Carcieri, since the Democrats control 85 percent of General Assembly seats.

Usually when governors take on the General Assembly, they know the veto is likely to be a feeble weapon, so they are acting on high principle to make a statement, or from less Olympian motives, to score political points. This time, however, Carcieri really had the legislature off balance, thanks in large part to a potential split among the Democrats themselves, which left insiders guessing just hours beforehand as to how the special session would turn out.

Much of the attention was on the casino question, where Carcieri earlier had made two critical moves. First, the governor vetoed a ballot referendum that asked November voters to decide whether to allow a casino in West Warwick, run by Harrah’s Entertainment, which, in turn, had promised a chunk of profits to Narragansett Indians. Further, Carcieri challenged the legality of the referendum by calling for a state Supreme Court advisory opinion. Democratic Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch joined the GOP governor in questioning the measure’s legality.

In response, Senate Democrats, in the days leading up to the veto override session, came up with what seemed a panicked solution: a quickie amendment to the state Constitution. Good-government types like Common Cause’s H. Philip West Jr. joined the bloodthirsty voices of Talk Show Nation in denouncing the tactic: How dare "they" tinker with something as sacred as the Constitution?

Hundreds of anti- and pro-casino partisans crammed into a large State House hearing room just hours before the override session, promising a perfectly dreadful afternoon of interminable posturing by button-wearing speakers. Dramatically, Carcieri entered the hearing room with wife, Sue, and bodyguard state trooper. But amendment sponsor Senator Stephen D. Alves, whose West Warwick district includes the site the proposed casino, went first.

Alves stunned the room by asking the Senate committee on constitutional and gaming issues to take no action on his measures. He said he and Senate leaders had decided that the original bill could withstand the legal challenges. And a while later, the full Senate overrode Carcieri’s veto. Attention turned next to the House, which took up Carcieri’s veto of the budget, by far the more important issue, given how important the budget is to running state government.

There were some doubts about that outcome, since weeks earlier, during the regular General Assembly session, a rebellion by 11 of the House’s 63 Democrats had left leaders one vote shy of the total needed to pass the budget, and they had to scramble for a second vote to pass it. So as the override session approached, House Speaker William J. Murphy faced the possibility that the dissident Democrats would again team up with minority Republicans to deny him the 60-percent plurality required to override a veto.

The uncertainty was heightened when Representative John B. Harwood — who had resigned as speaker two years ago after unproven, but embarrassing suggestions of a sex scandal — announced he wanted to retake the post from Murphy. Indeed, moments before the House session began, Harwood basked in TV lights, vowing a tough fight: "Show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser."

Democratic operatives conceded they were unsure how the vote would go and one who is close to Murphy suggested the unthinkable — that General Assembly Democrats soon might be negotiating a new budget with Carcieri.

Murphy began the session with a weather report — that it was 90 degrees in the House Chamber — and the minority Republicans promised to make the afternoon even more miserable by demanding that the House clerk read Carcieri’s veto message, then interrupting with shouts that he was mumbling the job.

When the voice roll call was taken one hour and 41 minutes later, the override won by a hefty margin — 55 to 15, or 13 more than needed. Republican Carcieri had been delivered a crushing blow, and only five Democrats had voted with Harwood.

Representative Frank A. Montanaro (D-Cranston) said it was not only a stunning victory for Murphy, but a healthy exercise for Democrats, who were forced to pay attention to each others’ issues and pull together.

Carcieri pulled off one clear victory. Before the session, General Assembly leaders decided not to try to override his veto of a state-subsidized Providence hotel backed by former state Representative Vincent J. Mesolella.

Further, as of this writing, the attempted overrides were still not complete. The July 23 session ended without the Senate acting on the budget, and without the House voting on the casino question. So more summer sessions are needed.

But if things remain as they were when General Assembly members fled the broiling Capitol, Republican Carcieri proved he can shake things up at the State House. And the Democrats demonstrated, once again, they are still in charge.