sec of state – RI Future

August 19, 2014August 21, 2014

Undecided overwhelmingly wins in secretary of state poll

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If Guillaume de Ramel and Nellie Gorbea combined the support they each received in a new WPRI / Providence Journal poll, they’d still trail the undecided voters by a whopping 17 percent.

De Ramel pulled 27 percent support and Gorbea 13 percent. But with 57 percent of likely voters still undecided, anything can still happen. One thing that will happen is de Ramel will outspend Gorbea, and that will help him.

“Guillaume is running for Secretary of State to reform lobbying so something like 38 Studios never happens again, modernize the way Rhode Islanders vote to increase participation, and improve the business climate and help put Rhode Islanders back to work — and that message is resonating,” said his campaign manager David Hoffman.”

Gorbea campaign manager Rico Vota said he will be sending out a statement later tonight. (I’ll update this post if and when he does)

UPDATE: In an email this morning, Vota said the poll shows Gorbea is “well-positioned.”

He said: “Despite his unlimited ability and effort to outspend her, Ms. Gorbea’s opponent has not been able to make a compelling case to voters,” stated Gorbea campaign manager Rico Vota. “His lack of transparency in his financial dealings raise questions. His disregard for meeting the requirements of his own lobbying reform proposals – by accepting money for a registered lobbyist and vendor to the Secretary of State’s office, doesn’t inspire confidence in voters.”

August 12, 2014August 13, 2014

Guillaume De Ramel: Secretary of state can help RI businesses

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This is the second time Democrat Guillaume de Ramel has run for Secretary of State. He lost in a primary to Ralph Mollis in 2006 and says Rhode Island’s voter ID law probably wouldn’t have happened had he been elected instead. De Ramel opposes voter ID and supports early voting, as does his primary opponent this year Nellie Gorbea.

One difference between these two Democrats is de Ramel says he is running to make it easier to do business in Rhode Island.

“I know we can’t tax our way out this rut,” he told me. “So what we need to do is grow but in order to grow we have to create a more hospitable business climate.”

He says the secretary of state can help lower unemployment by running more of the regulatory process through that office. “Being small should be our biggest competitive advantage,” he said. “The secretary of state can really help make our state government smaller, more transparent and more open.”

“Making Rhode Island state government the most open, transparent and accessible state government,” is among his highest priorities, de Ramel said. He called out the state Airport Corporation, RIPTA and the Bridge and Turnpike Authority for flouting open government laws.

“Open and transparent makes it easier to do business here in Rhode Island,” de Ramel told me. “Unfortunately for too long it’s been about who you know, not what you know.”

He speaks from experience on this matter. When we discussed what he does for a living, he told me about a project to develop 10 airplane hangars at Newport State Airport that took 13 years to bring to fruition.

Late in the project, he hired former House Speaker Gordon Fox as his business agent. I asked de Ramel why Fox, and why the project, which has been a major talking point of his campaign, took 13 years to develop.

De Ramel said he would take a lead role in repealing voter ID, and that the secretary of state should have a seat on the state board of elections.

He’d also like to extend early voting. “We have 39 cities and towns,” he said. “Why not use the facilities we have and open them up for early voting.” He added that state law already says one doesn’t need a reason to to vote early, though he said the ballot itself doesn’t make this clear.

Unlike other proposals, de Ramel would like to make it easier for lobbyists to register. It currently costs $5, and he’d waive that fee so that there were be fewer hurdles to registering. While he’s bragged that he does not accept donations from lobbyists, he has received money from the spouses of lobbyists.

On his mother’s side of the family, de Ramel is related to Roger Williams, he said. On his father’s side, he’s a descendant of the French philosopher Montesquieu, who first mused about governmental separation of powers. His great, great grandfather built the Newport water infrastructure, he said, as well as water infrastructure all over the country. His great grandmother was born in Newport and the family has been there since.

You can listen to our full 45 minute interview here.

July 24, 2014July 24, 2014

Nellie Gorbea: experience matters for next secretary of state

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Nellie Gorbea, one of two Democratic candidates for secretary of state, concedes there aren’t many policy differences between her and her from primary opponent Guillaume de Ramel. But experience for the job, the former deputy secretary of state and Housing Works RI executive director says, is another matter.

“Because in the end,” Gorbea told me in a 45 minute interview earlier this week, “leadership matters and experience matters and I have a proven track record for doing what I say.”

Later in our conversation she described the experience difference between her and de Ramel as being “fairly striking.”

Gorbea was born and raised in Puerto Rico and moved to the mainland to attend Princeton, where she met her future husband. After she got her master’s degree in public adminstration from Columbia, he got a job as a professor at URI’s world-renowned Graduate School of Oceanography. They now live in near Wickford and have three daughters, ages 10, 8 and 4. We talked about how she became a Rhode Islander, and how RI and PR a lot alike in their cultures.

We talked about election reforms she would push for as secretary as state, such as repealing the voter ID law and implementing online voter registration. She said there are some draw backs to vote-by-mail.

Gorbea has a wealth of public and private sector experience. Before she was the executive director of Housing Works RI she was a deputy secretary of state under Matt Brown. In that capacity, she helped to publish online voting and public meeting information. She sued the General Assembly – and won – over a redistricting infraction in South Providence. And she was in management at the secretary of state’s office when it became a union shop.

She said it helped improve efficiency, employee relations and consumer experience in the office. Listen to her talk about the experience here:

While Gorbea wouldn’t tell me who she is supporting for other statewide offices, she did offer her opinion on how Ralph Mollis has done as secretary of state:

One of the most interesting and candid conversations we had was about her K Street fundraiser with Bill Richardson.

But aside from her experience in the office and a bona fide progressive track record, Gorbea is suffering from a severe fundraising disadvantage. She promised to have a TV presence before the primary, but knows she can’t match de Ramel’s ability to pay for advertising. Instead she boasts that her campaign is grassroots-funded by Rhode Islanders in every city and town in the state.

She said if there’s one thing Rhode Islanders should know about her campaign it’s this:

Here’s our full 45 minute interview (with some minor edits):