william walaska – RI Future

October 10, 2016

RI Future Interview: Calkin Campaign Manager Capri Catanzaro

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Jeanine Calkin’s upset win over Senate President Pro Tem Bill Walaska was a centerpiece of the progressive movement’s wave of victories in this year’s primaries. For a behind the scenes look at the Calkin campaign, RI Future sat down with Campaign Manager Capri Catanzaro.

How does it feel to unseat Walaska?

If I were to sum up everything, it would be that I am proud of the work that Jeanine did—especially the fact that she was willing to put herself out there and dedicate her time and energy to a new lifestyle. She was very persistent with the work that I gave her, and I am very proud of the result.

What was your strategy?

The most important aspect of Jeanine’s campaign was being approachable and personable. We wanted to create a community of discussion around issues that were important to the constituents. Canvassing enabled us to develop relationships, and earn support.

What inspired you to get involved in politics?

I read Bernie’s platform, and I pretty much immediately decided that if I did not put all of my effort into electing this man, then I would be extremely disappointed in myself. I had never had any interest in politics before, but Bernie changed everything for me.

That’s interesting. Most people discover Bernie through watching him online, but you discovered him by reading his platform. That’s very issues focused.

I am 100% issues oriented. My main focus is always on enacting progressive policy to make peoples’ lives better.

So what did you do for Bernie?

How long do we have? I started by attending local events, was invited to help get out the vote in New Hampshire. I then decided to spend all my money on plane tickets to fly around the country to volunteer for Bernie. Everywhere I went, I wanted to make sure that I was bringing something new and helpful to that state. I did not want show up one day, eat the snacks, and talk to the organizers for fifteen minutes about why Bernie’s great. I wanted to make the biggest possible impact for Bernie that I could.

So what’s an example of something new that you brought to a state?

In New York, no one was touching two congressional districts in upstate New York, and I created a campaign hub for the area, and I opened three additional staging locations.

How did Bernie do in your area?

Oh, he won overwhelmingly, even though it was a very Republican area. It was so Republican that I met a woman who said she had to register as a Republican in order to even be considered for a job!

How many states total did you travel to to volunteer in?

Seven. Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Nevada, Texas, Missouri, New York, and California.

Wow, that’s a lot!

Yeah, I wish I could have done more.

What inspired you to run Jeanine’s campaign?

We had been working together to elect Bernie Sanders for months. She called me one day. I was actually in California. She told me she was running for office, and she really wanted me to be her campaign manager. I was overwhelmed with the fact that someone would actually want me to manager their campaign. I was scared. I was definitely scared.

What made you decide to do it?

I was planning on working on Zephyr Teachout’s congressional campaign, but I knew that I could make a bigger impact by working for Jeanine.

So what were the biggest challenges you faced on the campaign?

The most difficult thing for this campaign was convincing everyone else that she had a shot.

A lot of people assumed that Walaska was going to win. How did you manage to pull off your upset victory?

Having a really dedicated team was the key. We had some amazing volunteers, especially our intern Enzo Cuseo. Jeanine’s husband, Dan, also put in long hours for the campaign after his normal work day. We utilized every moment of Jeanine’s time and our own time to knock on doors, hold events, and make phone calls. Long days and late nights were just part of the job.

What’s the most important result of this race?

To be honest, I think it is showing that your strategy and efficiency can go a long way. People just assume that the person with the most money is going to win, but if you run a strategic and efficient campaign, you can pull it off despite the monetary challenges. Also, I think that Jeanine will be an inspiration to future progressive candidates.

So where are you going next?

I want to continue electing progressive candidates. The Revolution waits for nobody.

August 25, 2016August 26, 2016

State Police investigating calls for Walaska from state phones

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The Rhode Island State Police are investigating campaign phone calls made from Child Support Services, a state agency, on behalf of State Senator William Walaska, a conservative Democrat and 22-year incumbent. Walaska is being challenged by Jeanine Calkin, a progressive Democrat and Bernie Sanders supporter.

State Police Lt. Michael Glynn contacted RI Future, the Warwick doctor who initially told me about the calls, and also contacted Jeanine Calkin, whose husband, Daniel, also received a call. The scope and particulars of the investigation are unknown, but Calkin said that “someone is coming to talk to Dan today and take a look at our phone.”

RI Future broke this story last week. So far no other media organizations have covered it. When called for a comment, Senator Walaska said, “I know you don’t support me. I have no idea. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

This story will be updated.

Here’s the call:

August 19, 2016August 26, 2016

Calls in support for Senator Walaska are coming from state phone

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When a Warwick resident and doctor checked his phone between appointments, he saw an unfamiliar number. Looking it up, he learned that the call came from Child Support Services, a state agency.

“Good afternoon,” said a male voice on his voicemail. “I’m a representative of Senator Walaska. We’re looking for some support this election if you go out and vote in the primary we would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.”

After hearing the call, and believing the use of state phones for partisan campaign calls to be against the law, the Warwick resident, who asked not to be identified, contacted the Attorney General‘s office. They told him that the AG’s office is only interested in issues of campaign fraud. He was referred to the Secretary of State‘s office. The Secretary of State’s office was similarly disinterested, and referred him to the Board of Elections. According to the resident who sent me the call, the person from the Board of Elections searched through the relevant statutes in vain before giving up and telling the resident that he should call back when he learned exactly what law is being broken.

For future reference, that law seems to be:

§ 36-4-52. Restrictions on political activities of classified employees

No classified employee shall during working hours engage to any extent in any form of partisan politics except that he or she may attend and vote at any party caucus, primary, or election held during working hours. Outside of working hours a classified employee may attend any partisan political rally, club, or gathering and privately express his or her partisan political views but any further partisan political activity on his or her part shall be engaged in only in accordance with the personnel rules. A classified employee violating the provisions of § § 36-4-50–36-4-54, or of the personnel rules shall for a first offense be either demoted or dismissed and for a second offense dismissed. All charges of these violations shall be publicly heard by the personnel appeal board.

Robert Kando executive director of the Board of Elections could not be reached for comment.

John Marion of Common Cause said that the issue appears reminiscent of an ethics complaint against Susan Cicilline Buonanno when she ran for the House District 33 seat that Narragansett Democrat Donald Lally resigned. Buonanno, principal of Gladstone Elementary School in Cranston was accused of using school email and phones to advance her political campaign.

This case is different because it’s not the candidate, but someone claiming to represent the candidate who appears to be using state resources for partisan political purposes.

“As you might expect, using state work telephones for campaigning is forbidden, and so we would want to know if this sort of thing was taking place so that the charges could be investigated and suitable disciplinary action taken if warranted,” said Fred Sneesby, an administrator at Children’s & Family Services. The Warwick resident who sent me the call has been put in contact with Sneesby.

Contacted by phone, Senator Walaska, after I identified myself but before I could fully explain what I was calling about, said, “I know you don’t support me. I have no idea. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Jeanine Calkin, a progressive Democrat who is running against the 22-year incumbent, said that her husband, Daniel Calkin, received a similar call. A photo of her husband’s phone is on the left. Daniel Calkin, listening to the audio above, said he was “pretty sure it’s the same guy.”

“This looks like a very clear-cut violation,” said Sam Bell, executive director of the RI Progressive Democrats.”Campaign calls should not be made from state numbers. Being able to direct state workers to campaign for a candidate gives an enormously unfair advantage to powerful incumbents.”

Requests for comment from Representative Joseph McNamara and Brandon Bell, respective chairs for the Democratic and Republican parties in Rhode Island have gone unanswered.

As for the Warwick resident and doctor who sent me the call, he says that he is “disinclined to vote for Walaska.”

June 23, 2016

Jeanine Calkin challenges Walaska in Senate District 30

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My name is Jeanine, and I am running for State Senate because I’m tired of our stagnant political system leaving so many of us behind.

Over the last 35 years, the diminishing of the middle class is staggering. Growing up, I knew that if I worked hard and got a college degree, I could make a good living for myself. Unfortunately today, that is not necessarily the case. With fewer manufacturing jobs, and a turn toward a service industry economy, good paying jobs are hard to find. People cannot live on these low paying wages, and the fight for an increase to the minimum wage is critical. Reliance on credit cards has hidden the struggle of the middle class. Too many families cannot afford an emergency such as a car accident, or medical care.

I had never gotten involved in politics before Bernie Sanders’ message inspired me to stand up and fight for the 99%. I ran the field campaign for Bernie here in Warwick, where we wound up winning by 19 points. In our state, it is getting harder and harder to get a decent paying job. The Rhode Island middle class is disappearing, our jobs are leaving the state, and our government does little to help the working families who live here. As a lifelong Rhode Islander, I care about the future of our state.

The politicians who run Rhode Island keep giving handouts to politically connected corporations instead of helping the working families of our community. Our current State Senator hasn’t just voted for these policies; he holds extreme conservative views. For instance, after the tragic mass shooting in Orlando, I looked up his NRA rating, and I was shocked to learn he has an A+ from the gun lobby.

I am a Progressive Democrat, and will work with others in the Senate on core issues such as social security, income inequality and the environment. Together, we can transform our community to represent all of us, not just the special interests.

February 19, 2015February 20, 2015

Rhode Island is ALEC-free

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Rhode Island is now an ALEC-free zone.

When the year 2014 expired on December 31, so did Warwick Senator William Walaska’s membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council, a once-controversial right-wing bill mill that partnered corporate interests with state lawmakers to draft conservative model legislation to be shopped to Statehouses across the country.

Walaska, a Democrat, was the last local legislator who was an ALEC member – and the only one to renew membership since 2012. His lapsed membership means that the Rhode Island State House will not receive any copies of ALEC’s monthly magazine.

“We do not get their literature any more since we have no members any longer,” said House spokesman Larry Berman.

ALEC had existed in the background of state politics all over the country for decades. But the Koch-aligned group became a toxic in 2012 when its model Stand Your Ground Law exonerated George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin.

At the same time, ALEC was quietly enjoying significant influence in the Rhode Island General Assembly. Former Woonsocket Rep. Jon Brien, a Democrat and member of Speaker Gordon Fox’s leadership team, was named to ALEC’s national board of directors and more than 20 percent of the state legislature were members – at the taxpayers expense. Organized labor took issue as local legislators started quickly denouncing their affiliation. At the height of ALEC’s influence in Rhode Island, 24 local legislators, half of whom were Democrats, were members. By 2013, there were only six ALEC members in the General Assembly (though on p. 39 ALEC lists 12 members in 2013).

In June, New York Times columnist Joe Nocera said Woonsocket suffered from an ALEC mindset and in July CVS, based in Woonsocket, dropped its membership in ALEC, which at the time was the last corporate ALEC member in Rhode Island. Brien was was defeated in his bid for reelection that fall.

Nationally ALEC membership dropped 5.6 percent from 2011 to 2013, according to internal ALEC information leaked by first released by The Guardian (p.37). Jay Riestenberg, a researcher for Common Cause, said ALEC has likely picked up some new legislators in 2014 because of a “historic number of Republican state legislators in office.”

Corporate sponsorship has dropped dramatically though, with more than 100 leaving since 2011 and financial support down 19 percent in 2013. But while the ALEC organism has been diminished, its DNA is still being effective, even here in Rhode Island.

Riestenberg said some of the corporate money that has been divested from ALEC has matriculated to the State Policy Network and cited Microsoft, Facebook and Kraft as examples. The State Policy Network, or SPN, is funded by corporations and Koch-aligned special interests to push conservative ideology at the state level. PR Watch has pushed a campaign linking SPN and ALEC saying it is a right wing think tank pushing the ALEC agenda in the states.

stenhouse — Mike Stenhouse, “CEO” SPN-aligned Center for Freedom and Prosperity

Riestenberg identified the Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity as the SPN affiliate in Rhode Island, as has this blog. In an email to me, RICFP “CEO” Mike Stenhouse confirms a connection between SPN and ALEC.

“The RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity and ALEC, as part of their respective missions, each seek to advance market-based policy ideas that have a track-record of success in other states,” he said. “ALEC is also a close national partner of SPN, the national association of which our Center is a member. SPN has been very helpful over the years in helping our Center put together strategic operating plans, in getting us pointed in the right direction in our formative years, in making us aware of certain RFP grant opportunities, and by continuing to sponsor participation in highly valuable public policy and organizational development regional and national workshops.”

February 21, 2012February 24, 2012

Chase bank charges fees to use unemployment debit cards

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Trimming the costs of governance isn’t inherently a bad thing, but charging the unemployed fees to access their account information probably isn’t the best way for the state to save money.

However, that’s exactly what happened when Rhode Island outsourced the management of unemployment fund accounts to JP Morgan Chase in 2007.

“JPMorgan Chase agreed to operate the system at no cost to the state – if it could charge fees to those receiving unemployment benefits,” reports David Klepper of the Associated Press.

About 35 percent of the 41,000 Rhode Islanders on unemployment use what’s called an Electronic Payment Card to access their benefits. Ostensibly, these would be the people that are so poor they don’t even have a bank account. But Laura Hart, a spokesperson for the state Department of Labor and Training said others on unemployment “may appreciate the convenience of the EPC format.”

Or they may not, once they consider the fees JP Morgan Chase charges to use the service: a $.50 fee to check your balance; $1.50 to withdraw funds more than once per week; $3 for using a bank out of the system.

“The fees shift the cost from state governments to the consumer,” Lauren Saunders, a lawyer with the National Consumer Law Center, told Klepper.”These are people living on thin margins already.”

While Rhode Island isn’t the only state to outsource these costs – at least 40 other state do, according to the AP – the state senate last week voted to have the governor review the fees Morgan is charging.

The bill, if passed, would require that all fees for using the debit card be stated on the card itself. It was sponsored by Sen. William Walaska and Erin Lynch, both Warwick Democrats.

Currently, according to Hart, cardholders are given “literature” that explains the fees. “Additionally,” she said in an email, “DLT produced an information video about avoiding EPC fees” that is on the DLT website.

She also said that “most” fees associated with the EPC cards can be avoided.