WARWICK – Just a day after House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello conceded to Republican challenger Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung in his reelection bid, House Democrats gathered Thursday night at the Crowne Plaza Providence-Warwick to overwhelmingly back Majority Leader Joe Shekarchi to take over as speaker.
Mattiello’s former No. 2, whose ideology ranges from progressive values with a pro-business approach, garnered votes from 56 representatives and representative-elects to nominate the Warwick Democrat, along with Rep. Christopher Blazejewski, D-Providence, as majority leader.
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“My first goal is to work on balancing the budget in a responsible manner,” Shekarchi said to PBN Friday, adding he was humbled to receive the support of the caucus. “It will be very challenging and all options are on the table at this time in closing the deficit created largely by the COVID crisis.”
Shekarchi will remain in his place as majority leader until the House meets on Jan. 5, and officially elects a new speaker in the new legislative session.
Shekarchi said the House “must” meet regularly in the new year. He said he will actively be exploring ways that they can hold committee meetings and House sessions remotely during the pandemic.
“I will be inclusive of all members, and I look forward to hearing their suggestions on ways to improve the way business is conducted in the House,” said Shekarchi.
Until then, he continues to face one opponent, freshman Rep. Liana Cassar, D-Barrington, who had announced before Election Day that she would challenge Mattiello for the powerful position.
She declined to attend the caucus meeting, citing that an in-person meeting was irresponsible during the pandemic with rising COVID-19 case numbers in the state, and noted that the official vote isn’t for another two months.
“I, like many of my House colleagues, was surprised to see the email invitation [on Wednesday] informing us of an in-person Democratic caucus meeting,” she wrote in a statement. “I remain a candidate for Speaker of the House and look forward to continuing meaningful conversations with my colleagues about how we together expect to organize our House leadership.
According to Josh Block, a spokesman for Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, the caucus meeting was planned in accordance with the R.I. Department of Health regulations, and was in contact with the R.I. Department of Business Regulations. Cassar was nominated and voted for herself by proxy, according to reports.
While she was endorsed for the top position by the R.I. Democratic Women’s Caucus, 19 women representatives and representative-elects endorsed Shekarchi and Blazejewski, citing their commitment to changing the culture at the State House.
Some of these women included Rep. Anastasia P. Williams, D-Providence, Rep. June Speakman, D-Warren, Rep. Lauren Carson, D-Newport, among others.
“They know that our chamber needs to be an open, respectful environment where all representatives – women, men, everyone- have an opportunity to lead on issues affecting their communities and a safe space to engage in political dialogue,” read a statement by these representatives in their endorsement.
Liz Gledhill, chair of the R.I. Democratic Women’s Caucus, said Friday that no matter the final outcome in January when official votes are cast, the caucus will work with other concerned constituents who want operational reform at the legislative level.
“We worked hard towards that goal this past election season and we will continue to, in order to serve our mission of advocating for Democratic Party principles & promoting equality for women,” said Gledhill. “We hope to work with all members of the legislature on this, including whomever ends up in top leadership positions.”
Rep. Gregg Amore, D-East Providence, and Rep. Robert Craven, D-North Kingstown, who also services as the House Judiciary Committee chairman, had previously looked to run for speaker, but ultimately threw their support behind Shekarchi on Wednesday.
“I explored a bid for speaker in a less public way than [Cassar] and had a good coalition of support, but even combining [Cassar’s] group with ours, we did not have the numbers to continue our efforts,” Amore told PBN. “I promised [Cassar] that in order to support Shekarchi, I would ask for a strong commitment to change key House rules and culture that Liana and I both think are very important. He did that and I agreed to support him.”
Amore, who was first elected in 2012, said many of those who supported him followed his lead in supporting the majority leader.
“Joe Shekarchi is a good and decent man and appears to be sincere inn his commitment to transformational change in the way the House does business,” said Amore. “Much of this is a result of Rep. Cassar’s efforts.”
Despite Mattiello’s more conservative ideology than Shekarchi, the soon-to-be former speaker’s relationship with House Republican leadership was rocky as of late. On Friday, the House Republican caucus congratulated Shekarchi on his nomination.
“He is a good man with the potential to be a great speaker,” said House Minority Leader Blake Filippi in a statement sent Friday to PBN. “We always had an excellent working relationship, even during the tumult of the last 10 months under Speaker Mattiello, and that bodes well for our future cooperation.”
Shekarchi also has a link to the state’s most powerful leader: Raimondo. He previously managed the governor’s campaign for state treasurer in 2010 and also co-chaired her transition team before she was sworn in as governor.
While Raimondo would not comment on the likelihood of Shekarchi becoming Rhode Island’s next speaker, she said during Thursday’s coronavirus press conference that he was, “hardworking, honest, smart, really collaborative and just a very solid citizen.”
(This story has been updated throughout to include comments by Rep. Joe Shekarchi and Gov. Gina M. Raimondo.)
Alexa Gagosz is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Gagosz@PBN.com. You may also follow her on Twitter at @AlexaGagosz.
