Cicilline in Turmoil: Congressman Blasted on Redistricting Process
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Critics on both sides of the aisle are accusing freshman Congressman David Cicilline of manipulating the efforts to redraw the state’s political districts in an attempt to solidify his bid for re-election.
The latest redistricting map released Monday by the state’s redistricting commission would force more than 100,000 voters to shift congressional districts while moving Burrillville, North Smithfield and Smithfield out of the 1st District. Former Congressional candidate John Loughlin won those three towns by 2,976 votes in 2010 and North Smithfield and Smithfield were, by percentage, his largest victories in the district.
The key for the former Providence Mayor would be the addition of South Providence, which would make more than 70 percent of the capital city part of the 1st District. Cicilline won Providence in 2010 with 69.2 percent of the 17,681 votes cast in the city.
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The proposal was met with opposition Tuesday by Congressman James Langevin’s campaign, which will be forced to run for re-election in a more conservative district if then plan is approved. Langevin’s district director Kenneth Wild told the Associated Press it is “blatantly disingenuous” for Cicilline to say he didn’t have a role in redistricting.
But Cicilline’s campaign fired back, making it clear they never suggested that they didn't have a hand in the process. The campaign arguing that every political team in the state met with well-paid redistricting consultant Kimball Brace to offer input on the process. Spokesperson Nicole Kayner said the campaign tried to reach an agreement with Langevin’s team.
“Of course we support anything that improves the Democratic performance in the district," Kayner said. “After the commission released 3 maps, we tried to come to a consensus with the Langevin folks and we were unable. Again, that's why we have a commission and we defer to them at this point.”
A Power-Grab and a Ruse
But two former Democratic Congressional candidates said to be weighing bids for Congress again agreed with the Langevin campaign. David Segal and Anthony Gemma each said the plan is bad for the state and only serves to benefit Cicilline.
“I think Langevin's team has called it for the power-grab that it is,” Segal said. “Pulling all of Providence into CD 1 seems like a risky bet -- it'll guarantee a Democratic general election winner, but it relies on the assumption that voters will back the former Mayor in the primary. The plan is bad for the state, and it's particularly bad for the state's relatively disenfranchised voters. The minority representation angle is a ruse: Right now we have two Congress members who need to consider the concerns of minority voters, and that clearly won't be true if this passes. Right now we have two Congress members who have to care about the needs of our capital and central city. That won't be true anymore.”
Gemma, who finished second behind Cicilline in last year’s Democratic primary, took it a step further, labeling the Congressman a liar. He credited Langevin for speaking out against Cicilline’s efforts to control the redistricting process.
“When David Cicilline tells you that he is not behind the redistricting drive, he is not telling you the truth,” Gemma said. “Congressman Jim Langevin knows the truth, and he spoke it today when he exposed Cicilline’s lies and hidden agenda. Congressman Langevin’s comments further reveal to us that David Cicilline is being abandoned by his fellow Democrats for whom truth and competence still matter. I stand proudly with them and with Congressman Langevin in proclaiming to the world, as I alone did throughout the 2010 Primary campaign, that David Cicilline is a dishonorable man who is not fit to serve in the Congress of the United States of America.”
Common Cause: Halt the Process
Kayner maintains that a number of the redistricting maps offered would have helped Cicilline and they were in favor of those options as well.
"We sat down with consultants and they made it clear they weren't going with [map] A or B, which were both very good maps for us,” she said. “This is what every political team has done, to try to express their intents and suggestions."
But Common Cause Executive Director John Marion said the proposed map moves over 100,000 people when the legal requirement to reapportion required a shift of approximately 7,200 people. He said the redistricting commission “has not done due diligence in preparing these plans” and called for a halt in the process.
“In the first hearings of the commission in 2011 we asked that they not protect incumbents in this process,” Marion said. “Both efforts were met with silence. We believe that no districts should be drawn to protect an incumbent politician, or advantage a particular candidate, whoever they may be.”
GOP: Another Black Eye
State Republicans also criticized the perceived effort to help Cicilline win re-election through the redistricting process. GOP Executive Director Patrick Sweeney questioned whether Langevin had any say at all.
“It is clear that Congressman Langevin has about as much say in redistricting as he has in Congress,” Sweeney said.
For the two candidates hoping to challenge Cicilline in next November’s general election, the redistricting plans make little sense.
“I am extremely disappointed and share the frustration of many Rhode Islanders, including members of the Reapportionment Commission and other elected officials who are outraged by what appears to be blatant political opportunism at work,” former head of the state police Brendan Doherty said. “In the absence of any logic, the only conclusion available is political gamesmanship. These antics and the resulting conflict between the members of our Congressional delegation, including allegations of deceit and manipulation, will end up as another black eye for the image of Rhode Island’s elected officials in the opinion of our residents.”
Loughlin spokesman Michael Napolitano called the new districts a “blatant attempt to save Congressman David Cicilline.”
“Map E displaces more than 100,000 voters when in fact only roughly 7,000 need to be moved. Cicilline’s approval numbers are extremely low and the voters will not be fooled by this tactic,” he said.
No Surprise Politics in Involved
Still, others say any effort to influence the redistricting process is simply part of the game and no surprise whatsoever. Quest Research pollster Victor Profughi said the most surprising development has been the outcry from Langevin’s campaign because he believes the Congressman would be safe no matter how the maps were drawn.
“Anyone who thinks that either elected officials or interest groups would ever want to take politics out of the process, they probably also believe in the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy,” Profughi said. “If Cicilline is making the process work for him, I suppose in the short run that's ‘good politics.’ But, ultimately it will be the voters choosing a member of congress who will judge how good it is.
And for now, a content Cicilline campaign says everything is in the hands of the commission.
"Our position has been very clear,” Kayner said. “There was a commission full of very talented and smart people and we were happy to share our thoughts with them. We met with them just as other political teams met with them, and ultimately it is their decision to make."
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