It may be a mid-term election, but there’s nothing dull about this year’s campaign season in Rhode Island, at the state level and especially at the congressional level.
The race between U.S. Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee and Cranston Mayor Stephen P. Laffey for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate has garnered national attention from the media, the pundits and the Republican Party itself.
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At stake is a Republican seat, in a year where Democrats are poised to make national gains, and the Republican party has debated who has the best chance of being sent to Washington in November – the more moderate Chafee, who has served seven years in the seat once held by his late father, or the more conservative Laffey, who has taken on unions and become a media magnet in his two terms as mayor.
But when it comes to the issues, both candidates cite similar priorities: health care, energy independence and controlling Washington spending.
Ian Lang, a Chafee campaign manager, said last week that moving forward, health care will remain one of the major issues facing Congress. Chafee, with relationships in both parties, would be best able to reach “across the aisle” and bring about reform, Lang said.
In his time in the Senate, Chafee has been a supporter of breast cancer research, embryonic stem-cell research and reimbursements for hospitals that treat low-income patients.
Nachama Soloveichik, Laffey’s director of communications, said last week that the mayor has a comprehensive plan to reduce the cost of health care and prescription drugs in the country. He also supports health savings accounts, which he was the first in the state to negotiate into a municipal union contract.
On spending, Lang said that Chafee favors a “pay as you go” approach, which means that the federal budget needs to be cut if taxes are. Laffey has attacked corporate welfare, non-military discretionary spending and “pork bills.”
Darrell West, a Brown University political science professor and close observer of the Rhode Island political scene, last week said he couldn’t predict which of the two men would win. Though Chafee polls better against Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, West said, the number and type of voters who show up at the polls Tuesday, Sept. 12, will be the deciding factor.
“If only the traditional Republican base comes out, Laffey’s going to win,” West said. “But the bigger the turnout and the more independents come out, the more likely Linc Chafee is to survive the primary.”
The businessman vs.
the general
At the state level, the highest office at stake in the primaries is lieutenant governor. Both parties have competitive races. But while among the Democrats, state Sen. Elizabeth H. Roberts of Cranston has more than a 30-point advantage over self-described “common-sense candidate” Spencer Dickinson, the Republicans are more evenly matched.
Kernan “Kerry” King, a retired businessman who only recently moved back to Rhode Island, had plenty of support from his party until late June, when Reginald A. Centracchio, retired commander of the Rhode Island National Guard, launched his campaign.
In an interview, King said he would run Rhode Island like a business, and would act as the governor’s co-pilot, tackling issues of importance to him and the top executive.
“If you look at the business world, where I came from, large organizations are not run by a single person,” King said. “They are run by a strong team of executives. That’s the way I view it – the governor and the lieutenant governor would act as a team.”
If elected, King said, he would conduct an audit to uncover businesses looking to leave Rhode Island. Once those businesses had been identified, he would invest state resources to keep them here. “Without jobs, without economic development, we are going to become a poor state,” he said. “We need people with a business background who can step up with a vision for the future of Rhode Island.”
Centracchio said he would draw on his military experience to keep employers in Rhode Island. Looking to move the office of lieutenant governor from “advisory to accountability,” he envisions a system of “recruitment and retention” to keep jobs in the state. The idea is to find ways to attract and maintain companies within Rhode Island.
Centracchio said he suspects that key issues such as utility costs, health care costs and taxes will head the list of necessary reforms in order to make Rhode Island more competitive.
Centracchio has received the endorsement of the state Republican Party, but Gov. Donald L. Carcieri is not taking sides.
According to Brown’s West, Centracchio’s name-recognition and role in the National Guard will aid him with Republican voters. “I think that Centracchio is the stronger candidate, and all of the concerns over homeland security play directly to his strengths,” West said.
The mayor and
the newcomer
A. Ralph Mollis and Guillaume de Ramel sound strikingly similar when they talk about where they’d like to take the office of secretary of state. The Democrats, seeking to replace Matthew Brown, both talk about the need to use technology to make the office more accessible.
Both said they are looking to increase Internet-based services, engage citizens further in their government and make the electoral process and corporate filings easier to navigate. But ask each one about the other, and they no longer sound alike.
Mollis, the North Providence mayor and party-endorsed candidate, and de Ramel, a wealthy Newport resident with a Republican wife, have sparred repeatedly about fundraising and ethics. De Ramel has questioned Mollis’ solicitation of funds from town workers and his acceptance of a contribution from a known associate of organized crime.
“What type of message does that send?” de Ramel said. “Frankly, as far as I’m concerned, organized crime has no place in our city government and certainly not in our secretary of state’s office. Rhode Island already has the reputation of having … corruption, and we need to change that.”
Mollis has criticized de Ramel for writing a $1,000 check for a ticket to a 2004 Bush/Cheney fundraiser, first questioning de Ramel’s party loyalty, then accusing de Ramel of breaking the law by writing the check in his name even though de Ramel says the ticket was for his wife, Molly.
“Ethics are always important,” Mollis said. “I hold my ethical standards, my integrity and my character to the highest of standards.”
But West said Mollis’ campaign has been tarnished by the fundraising issues and the mob associate’s donation. “It’s hard to see how he overcomes that,” West said.
Other primaries
This spring, former attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Sheldon Whitehouse was locked in a heated race with current Secretary of State Matthew A. Brown for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. However, Brown bowed out of the race, leaving Whitehouse in a three-way primary with Carl Sheeler and Christopher Young.
Neither candidate has been a threat to Whitehouse in polls. However, Sheeler did garner publicity throughout the campaign for his effort to impeach President Bush. Young is also running for Providence mayor.
U.S. Rep. James Langevin faces a challenge for the Democratic nomination in the 2nd Congressional District from Jennifer Lawless, a Brown University professor who is generally viewed as more liberal than Langevin and, unlike him, supports abortion rights. Langevin, seeking his fourth term in Congress, is expected to prevail.
One race has remained off the radar, even for West – the Republican primary to determine who will challenge U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy in the 1st Congressional District. Facing off for party nod will be Edmund R. Leather, Jonathan P. “Jon” Scott and Kenneth A. Capalbo.
West said he was unable to predict the outcome of that race. “I haven’t seen much active campaigning on their parts.”
