While there was jubilation in the Rhode Island Democratic Party election night party because of the biggest sweep since 1960, that mood was not shared by Democrats in South County.

From Exeter to Westerly, Democrats, and especially progressive Democrats, took an awful beating in General Assembly and Town Council races. Majorities in several South County towns also shifted from blue to red in their votes for state offices.

Since I started living in South County in 2002 and covering local politics at Progressive Charlestown, I had enjoyed watching what seemed to be a steady shift from the region’s historic Swamp Yankee conservatism to more progressive politics. South County sent a high proportion of solid blue Democrats to the State House and voted mostly Blue in state and national races.

But that changed on November 4.

Of the 11 South County communities, only four voted for Gina Raimondo over Allan Fung.

In addition to going GOP for governor, South County lost three terrific progressives – my own state Representative Donna Walsh, Sen. Cathie Cool Rumsey and Rep. Larry Valencia. Each of them faced appallingly unqualified opponents. Donna Walsh lost to a radical “Tenther” who doesn’t even seem to live in the District. Cathie Cool Rumsey lost to Hopkinton’s honorific Town Sheriff who was caught using her uniform to impersonate a police officer.

Larry Valencia lost to a guy whose only previous experience was running as a delegate to the Republican National Convention as a delegate for Ron Paul – and who came in fifth out of five.

In Charlestown, we were totally crushed, losing every single elected office in the town to a group called the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA Party), an off-shoot of the RI Statewide Coalition. If you mixed the Tea Party with the Nature Conservancy and the worst rich people’s homeowners association you can imagine, you’d get something that looks like the CCA.

The CCA Party gets more than 60% of its funding from out of state donors. They provide vacation property owners with the ability to vote with their checkbooks in local elections. The CCA Party has increasingly put Charlestown on a “pay to play” basis where the attention you get from town government is in proportion to the amount you donate to the CCA Party.

But those of us in Charlestown were not alone in our misery. Exeter Democrats also took a terrible beating. Exeter rejected all five state general office winners and provided winning margins for Tea Party Rep. Doreen Costa (R) to be re-elected and for progressive Sen. Cathie Cool Rumsey (D) to be ousted.

It was only 11 months ago that Exeter Democrats rallied to crush a gun lobby-sponsored recall of their Democratic Town Council majority. The “Exeter Four” won a huge victory last December 14 only to see two of the four defeated on November 4, costing them the Town Council majority. The level and sophistication of campaigning in Exeter for the general election bore little resemblance to the way Exeter Democrats won last year’s recall.

Larry Valencia’s home base in Richmond also went very bad. Voters rejected the state slate except for Seth Magaziner and also flipped their Town Council from a Democratic majority to Republican control.

Even in Westerly, a Democratic stronghold, Democrats lost control of the Town Council. So it went in North Kingstown, Narragansett and Hopkinton. When the dust settled, the only solidly Democratic town left in South County is South Kingstown.

South Kingstown was the only municipality not swept up in the red tide. South Kingstown was one of only three South County towns to vote for all five Democratic state office candidates. They also re-elected progressive Democrat Rep. Teresa Tanzi by six points despite a $100,000+ campaign mounted against her by mortgage banker Steve Tetzner.

In another closely watched race, South Kingstown also elected Democrat Kathy Fogarty over her Republican opponent, Lacey McGreevey. Fogarty defeated incumbent Rep. Spencer Dickinson in the primary to get her shot at the seat. She won the general election by 16 points.

On top of all that, South Kingstown voters also elected three Democrats and two independents to their Town Council. One of those independents is RI Sierra Club lobbyist Abel Collins.

So what happened?

Like elsewhere in the country, 2014 voter turn-out in South County was low. It was lower than expected even considering the normal drop-off in non-presidential election years.

In Charlestown, we expected turn-out to drop by 900 from the 2012 count for the presidential race. But the drop-off ended up being more than 1,100. With a total voter registration of just over 6,000, that drop-off had a huge impact on the results.

Challengers to incumbents trumpeted the state GOP’s lead issue – 38 Studios – 24/7. Forget that it was unlamented ex-Governor Donald Carcieri’s (R) idea. However, 38 Studios did not affect the state office races or act as much more than buzzkill in most races. Even Republican Attorney General candidate Dawson Hodgson, who probably banged the 38 Studios drum the loudest, admitted after the election that maybe the issue wasn’t so potent after all.

However, 38 Studios may have had a disproportional effect among our South County Swamp Yankees as it was in just about every one of the many mailers, ads and flyers attacking Democrats.

In many South County races, the conservatives out-spent and out-hustled Democrats. In the House District 36 race, Rep. Donna Walsh’s “Tenther” opponent out-spent her 13-to-1 going into the final month.

But money doesn’t always make the difference, as re-elected Rep. Teresa Tanzi can attest. Tetzner went into the final stretch of the campaign having raised three times as much money than Tanzi, mostly through loans he made to his campaign. Tetzner outspent Tanzi by six to one, but she still won.

By contrast, progressive incumbents Larry Valencia and Cathie Cool Rumsey both out-raised and out-spent their Republican opponents, Justin Price and Elaine Morgan respectively, by wide margins, but still lost.

After reviewing Price’s and Morgan’s campaign finance reports, it looks to me that there was a lot more money in their campaigns than they reported. Morgan, for example, reports having spent only $322 on her campaign up to the last week, but she had campaign signs plastered all over Richmond, Exeter and Hopkinton as well as campaign mailers. She only reported $444 in in-kind donations.

There are still unresolved pieces of the puzzle. At some point, Rep. Donna Walsh will get a hearing in front of the state Board of Elections on her charge that her opponent lied about where he lives and is not really a resident of the 36^th District. There may be charges filed in other campaigns for misreporting, ethics violations or campaign sabotage. There are a few recounts to be done of some races for town office.

But in the end, there is a new political reality in South County.

Perhaps with more time and perspective, we’ll be able to figure out what went wrong, but we now live with the reality that on November 4, South County flipped from blue to red. We have to figure out how to flip it back.

Gina Raimondo has the best ideas about how to better Rhode Island – and her middle class-friendly campaign message is far more appealing than Allan Fung’s policy proposals of cutting taxes and shrinking government. Couple that with Raimondo’s track record of being able to move political mountains and it seems like an easy choice.

But it wasn’t.

Maybe I’m holding a grudge because of her ability to shepherd through landmark pension reforms, which I still feel were too one-sided, but I’d like to think it’s more than that. I’m not sure I want to contribute to The Narrative of ‘A Democrat Can Screw Unions And Thrive’. There may be many short and long term wins to be had there (lower unfunded pension liabilities, for just one), but ultimately I’m far from convinced that’s the best row to hoe if we really want to fend off increasing economic inequality, which I firmly believe to be the root cause of much of our social and economic ailments.

Then there’s Wall Street.

It’s not a place in lower Manhattan, it’s a sector of our economy. Maybe the biggest, depending on how you define it, certainly it’s the strongest, and the only thing it makes is profits. This can be harmless in times of growth but, ultimately, can only be predatory unleashed on a society that consumes more than it produces. As such, Wall Street is the glue that solidifies increasing income inequality as the New American Way.

I’m not sure Gina Raimondo shares my thoughts on these issues. But I’m pretty certain Allan Fung doesn’t either. And in the short term, Raimondo will be far better for Rhode Island.

Payday loans don’t stand a chance with Gina Raimondo as governor. I bet she can whip the legislature into raising the minimum wage. I’m confident she can attract vibrant new businesses to downtown Providence and that she’ll be a fantastic ambassador for our tourist economy. She will not only defend our pioneering healthcare exchange, but I’d be surprised if she doesn’t find a way to make it even better. She will prioritize preparing for climate chance and sea level rise, and someday soon Rhode Island will regret if we are not.

Both Raimondo and Fung will support charter schools more than me. But I can see Raimondo turning the focus to a Constitutional right to an adequate and equal education for all. If one thing is obvious about education politics in Rhode Island it’s that we need someone to lead a high level conversation about where it’s going. I hope whoever is the next governor will pick up Bob Healey’s idea to fund education statewide as a way to offer both property tax relief and education equity. Raimondo is the only one who could pull this off.

I wanted to vote for Bob Healey, but it’s just too close with too much at stake. I think he’s the only one telling the truth on the campaign trail, even if he’s sometimes mumbling it. He may well be more popular if he had shorter hair, but instead he chooses to mock our political process. He’s the only one who earned my respect. But I think Rhode Island needs my vote, so it’s going to Gina Raimondo.

Raimondo’s support has been relatively consistent, though it’s dipped slightly. Fung seems to have had a rough first half of October but has since rebounded. Meanwhile, Moderate Party candidate Bob Healey (combined with other independent candidates) have plenty enough support to make a difference.

“While our concerns with (Republican Allan) Fung are far more severe,” according to a press release from RIPDA, “we see (Democrat Gina) Raimondo as a Wall Street Democrat with unacceptably conservative positions on economic issues.”

Sam Bell, director of RIPDA, said those positions include Raimondo not supporting repealing tax cuts to the rich and pension reform. He also found fault with Raimondo’s plan to fund new school construction by diverting sales tax revenue rather than bonding and her manufacturing plan, which he said will “allow corporations to control curriculum at CCRI.”

The left-leaning group only endorsed two candidates, both Democrats, in the general election: Nellie Gorbea, who is running for secretary of state against Republican John Carlevale, and Seth Magaziner, who is running for general treasurer against independent Ernie Almonte.

In their press release, RIPDA had more to say about whom they didn’t support, than who they did. decided not to endorse in the lt. governor’s race and the attorney general’s race.

For Attorney General, progressives face a difficult choice. We cannot endorse either candidate. Peter Kilmartin has a weak record on core civil liberties issues like racial profiling and consumer protection, and Dawson Hodgson is more liberal on issues of individual rights. As a moderate, pro-choice Republican with a voting record well to the left of the median state Senator, Hodgson is the sort of Republican that liberals can find appealing. However, Hodgson has expressed troubling views on guns, workers’ rights, and economic policy. We also have concerns with Kilmartin’s record on access to public records and open government.

Having served as a top lieutenant to former House Speaker Bill Murphy, Kilmartin has close personal and political ties to the conservative machine politicians who run our state so poorly. Hodgson, however, holds no love for Rhode Island’s right-wing Democratic establishment. Given the Attorney General’s ability to prosecute corruption, this is a vital concern.

And here’s what RIPDA said about the lt. governor’s race.

In the Lieutenant Governor’s race, we have also opted not to endorse. While Catherine Taylor is a moderate Republican, we believe she is superior to the Democratic nominee, Dan McKee. Although we certainly cannot endorse her, we do believe that Catherine is the better choice for progressives, despite her party affiliation.

Current Governor Linc Chafee won a three-way race in 2010 with just 36 percent of the vote – almost twice as many people voted against him as for him. In the Democratic primary this year, Gina Raimondo won 42 percent of the vote while 58 percent of voters opted for someone else. In this year’s general election, Republicans fear Bob Healey will peal votes away from Allan Fung, making it even harder for him to compete against Raimondo.

So on NBC10 Wingmen this week, Justin Katz, Bill Rappleye and I debated the merits of instant run-off voting – an electoral system in which voters can prioritize their choices in a field of more than two candidates. Watch our conversation about IRV and then lean even more about it here.

News, Weather and Classifieds for Southern New England

Republican gubernatorial candidates Allan Fung and Ken Block both support Common Core, cutting taxes, shrinking government, federal – not local – immigration reform and a women’s right to an abortion.

And despite admitting they would support the other in the general election during Tuesday night’s WPRI/Providence Journal debate, the thing they seem to agree on the most is the belief that their opponent would be a bad governor of Rhode Island.

Fung called Block a “political opportunist” and “not a real Republican.” He said he “has a difficult time reading municipal budgets” about an accounting error Block admitted to. “How can we trust him” with the state budget, he asked.

Block, on the other hand, said Fung is too familiar with local government. “If you’re happy with Rhode Island the way it is, vote for my opponent, or one of the other Democrats,” he said during his closing remarks.

At different points during the debate, they each paraphrased Ronald Reagan’s famous “there you go again” quip to Jimmy Carter. They each blamed the other for the negative tone of the campaign.

“This campaign has been full of venom, vile and half truths,” Block said. “We didn’t start the negativity. You have to respond at some point, anyone who watches politics knows it.”

Fung responded, “I think the viewers of Rhode Island see where much of the negativity and half truths have been coming from in tonight’s debate.”

They even both agreed they didn’t know yet whether they support Education Commissioner Deborah Gist’s recent decision to delay implementing a high stakes test graduation requirement. (Don’t forget, she was appointed by Republican Gov. Don Carcieri)

One rare instance of policy disagreement came on unemployment insurance.

Block says unemployment insurance in Rhode Island covers more seasonal employees than in other states. “We must fix it,” Block said. “There’s no more Republican ideal than having those who heavily use the system pay their fair share.”

But Fung counters that Block is effectively advocating for raising taxes on seasonal businesses such as those in tourism, agriculture and construction. “That is going to crush the seasonal industry,” he said. “I would not support tax raises to those seasonal industries.”

Both, however, agree that the economic burden is best dealt with at the employee level.

The national group that lobbies states to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana sent an email to supporters today with its assessment of where the gubernatorial candidates stand on cannabis policy.

“Next year, the legislature will continue discussing whether Rhode Island should replace marijuana prohibition with sensible regulations, so it is important to know how the candidates for governor view the issue,” said the email.

MPP has lobbied hard in Rhode Island in recent years as many believe the Ocean State could be the first state east of the Mississippi to legalize marijuana, and some speculate RI could become the third overall state after Colorado and Washington, though there are voter referendums to legalize in Oregon and Alaska this year.

Here’s MPP’s assessment of the Democratic primary:

Democratic primary gubernatorial candidates: When asked in March, all three major candidates — Gina Raimondo, Angel Taveras, and Clay Pell — indicated that they are monitoring the effects of regulation and taxation in Colorado and Washington. However, all indications are that Taveras is the least open to marijuana regulation — he stated that he is “not currently supportive of legalization.” This is not too surprising considering Taveras has received public support from prominent marijuana prohibitionist and former Congressman Patrick Kennedy.

And the Republican field:

Republican primary gubernatorial candidates: On the Republican side of the coin, Ken Block has said he will withhold judgment until he can “see the results in Colorado and Washington.” His opponent, Allan Fung, not only opposes “the legalization of marijuana for recreational use,” but also makes no mention of even being interested in results from Colorado and Washington.

Today he blasted Republican gubernatorial candidates Ken Block and Allan Fung for suggesting the state shouldn’t make payment on the moral obligation bond to service the 38 Studios loan debt.

Here’s the governor’s statement in its entirety:

The candidates who can’t understand these two obvious truths are unfit to be Governor. The consequences of default would place Rhode Island as one of the lowest state bond ratings in the nation, and the industry would reduce Rhode Island to ‘junk bond’ status. We have been told in no uncertain terms that the reaction to not paying our debt obligations will be severe and have an adverse impact on Rhode Island. In addition, failure to honor our obligations could have harmful effects on the pending lawsuit.

The push by Allan Fung and Ken Block to default is disheartening. We hear from them populist rhetoric that lacks any empirical research or credible support. Common sense dictates that you pay your debts however distasteful.

From the beginning, I have been the most vocal and strongest opponent of the 38 Studios deal. In the summer of 2010, I was denied access to a Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (now called Commerce RI) meeting where I hoped to speak and state the case on behalf of Rhode Islanders on why this was a bad investment.

Earlier today, I wrote that the Republican candidates for governor have political motivation to not make the payment. Yesterday, Sam Howard wrote that it should be repaid regardless of how bitter the pill.

The state owes $12.5 million on the moral obligation bond to pay for the 38 Studios loan. Because it is a moral obligation bond there are no legal ramifications to default, though there are likely to be fiscal implications. The General Assembly could not include the money in its budget. So, in effect, the state legislature gets to decide the fate of the state’s credit rating during its annual budget process this year.

Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed supports making payment on the bond and House Speaker Nick Mattiello has not yet committed.

Steve Ahlquist filmed the entire event and broke it down question-by-question, starting with each candidate’s opening remarks:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Question 1: What can you do to address unequal pay in our state?

Ken Block said there is “no place for wage discrimination” and that there are already laws in place to deal with it. Clay Pell called it a question of fundamental justice and of economic growth and “I think we have to do a lot more than just enforce the laws that are on the books.” Allan Fung said there are more barriers in the public sector than the private sector to equal pay in pay equity and promotions. Todd Giroux spoke about more generic economic reforms that don’t speak directly to equal pay.

Several of the Democrats said raising the minimum wage will have positive impacts on pay equity.

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Question 2: Do you support policies, like family leave, that benefit working women?

The Republican candidates tacked to different directions on this question. Fung said, “I absolutely do support a lot of those policies that [provide] flexibility for people into the workforce.” Block said he allows for family leave at his business, but then railed against the temporary disability insurance program in Rhode Island, calling it among the most expensive in the nation.

The Democrats were more united. “I absolutely think we need to a better job pr providing more flexible work places,” said Raimondo. Taveras agreed and Pell went furthest saying overall Rhode Island has been moving in the wrong direction when it comes to making women more equal in the workplace. He cited state childcare assistance being been cut by 80 percent since 2007 as evidence.

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Question 3: What will you do as governor to proactively affect gender inequality?

Pell committed to appointing an equal mix of men and women to boards and commissions while Block said he would “strive” to have an equal mix in his administration. Raimondo, said there are no laws in Rhode Island to protect pregnant women in the workplace, said she’s the only candidate to have been pregnant in the workplace. Taveras said he knows it from a father’s perspective.

Todd Giroux said he has used the family leave act to take care of his father. He said as the “openly-gay candidate in the race, I am all about equality.”  Raimondo . Taveras said he understands some of the challenges from a father’s perspective. As governor he said he will consider “what is best for the working families.”

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Question 4: Reproductive justice. Will you veto bill that limits a women’s right to make their own health care decisions?

Pell, Raimondo and Taveras were clear on this question: each began their statements by saying yes, they would. Fung said he supports a women’s right to choose.

Block said, “The question of abortion is settled federal law. The Supreme Court has weighed in and I have no interest in challenging or changing that law here in the state.” Giroux, too, said he does not wish to weigh in on this issue as governor, but said he is opposed to abortion. He said a college girlfriend had an abortion without telling him. “In America today, you have a right to choose and your baby has a right to life.”

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Question 5: How will you ensure women can get out of poverty?

Pell called this the critical question of the election.  Raimondo said, “It’s time that we take a different approach to the way we deliver social services and we focus more on results. We re spending money but it often isn’t effective. My approach would be break down the silos, fund what works.” Taveras said he has a three-pronged approach: raising the minimum wage, ensuring affordable childcare and investing in “cradle to career” education.

Block, also talked about education, saying he is “dedicated to education reform.” He and Fung both said fostering private sector growth will help raise people out of poverty.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Question 6: What are you plans to ensure recent college grads can find good jobs?

Instead of answering the question, Taveras and Block really get to the heart of the political difference between conservatives and progressives in Rhode Island.

Taveras said Rhode Island needs a climate that tells young people this is a place to be, this is a place to start a business and to live. But Block countered, “We won’t get the new jobs we need if it makes much more sense for businesses to set up in Massachusetts than it does in Rhode Island. It’s a brutal fact.”

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Question 7: Sexual assault on campus

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Question 8: How will you make expansion of women-owned businesses a reality?

Fung and Block spoke of focusing on the larger economy. Block said, “we need to increase the ease with which individuals can start businesses in this state, whether they are male or whether they are female.”

Raimondo said access to capital programs for women and minorities matter. “It’s time we face the reality that women have been left behind in the business world and address it.” Taveras said he wants to work with the Center for Women and Enterprise and the SBA to “open the doors and create opportunities.”

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…And their closing remarks:

Monday Jan 13, 2013
North Kingstown, RI – Good morning, Ocean State. This is Bob Plain, editor and publisher of the RI Future blog podcasting to you from The Hideaway on the banks of the Mattatuxet River behind the Shady Lea Mill in North Kingstown, Rhode Island.

It’s Monday, January 13 … and while last week we wondered if Rhode Island was the only state in the nation to have a governor who surfs, this week we’ll be wondering if we’re the only state to have a gubernatorial hopeful responsible for a traffic fatality.

The Providence Journal reports this morning that in 1989, a 19-year-old Allan Fung, now mayor of Cranston who is running for governor, was arrested for the death of a man after a car accident he caused on Interstate 95. The charges were later dropped. Fung was coming home from college for the weekend and he allegedly lost consciousness, or maybe he fell asleep at the wheel, crossed three lanes of traffic and hit and killed a man who was changing a tire in the breakdown lane.

Wow … what a life-changing event for Mayor Fung. A lot of folks wouldn’t have the courage to enter public service after such an experience. I applaud him for telling this story, and more so for being able to move on from it.

That said, Sam Howard penned an important piece about both Republican candidates for governor late last week … both Fung and Barrington millionaire Ken Block agreed to boycott John DePetro and/or WPRO, but quickly abandoned their commitment as soon as the hateful shock jock’s month in exile was over.

On NBC 10 News Conference this weekend, we debated the merits of legalizing marijuana. Justin Katz, the ostensibly small government libertarian-leaning conservative, said he’s afraid it will lead to a government monopoly over drugs and prostitution. Ironically enough his opposition to marijuana smacks of paranoia.

I can’t believe I actually have opportunity to say this, but the ProJo editorial page has a more nuanced and reasonable reason for opposing legalization this morning. They write the legalization could increase use among kids. Experts don’t necessarily agree.

In December, East Greenwich school drug counselor Bob Houghtaling joined Jared Moffat and Rebecca McGoldrick of Regulate RI here in the RI Future newsroom to talk about just this topic. Houghtaling thinks it will be easier to teach kids how to make healthy choices about pot if we take a less punative approach.

In other news about potentially progressive legislation this year from the State House … Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed said last week that her chamber will focus on addressing poverty this session as a means to fixing Rhode Island’s ailing economy.

And in New Hampshire this week, the talk is about campaign finance reform. Harvard professor and Rootstriker Lawrence Lessig organized, with Demand Progress and Rhode Island’s own David Segal, a two week march through the Granite State to get residents to demand presidential candidates take a stand against money dominating politics.

Friend of RI Future Mike McCarthy is there for the entire two weeks and we hope he’ll be checking in with us on occassion. In the meantime, here’s my interview with McCarthy from Friday … he stopped by the Hideaway to borrow my sleeping bag for his trip. Listen to our conversation about his adventure here.