Can Mattiello Hold Onto Power Beyond 2018?

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

GoLocalProv News Team

 

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Speaker of the House Nick Mattiello

Nick Mattiello is facing the political fight of his life. After a tumultuous year which saw a plethora of controversies, Mattiello’s arch political rival Steve Frias is back.

Mattiello defeated Frias in 2016 by less than 100 votes and this time around it may not be so easy.

In the past year plus, Mattiello’s office has been rocked by a series of controversies. One of his top State House aides Frank Montanaro was found to be receiving tens of thousands in free college tuition - on top of his $155,000 salary. Then, Mattiello hired the son of his campaign consultant Ed Contugno. 

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Adding more fuel, on Friday the Board of Elections announced it has scheduled a “show cause” on why four individuals tied to Mattiello should not be held in contempt for refusing to answer subpoenas about the Speaker's 2016 campaign.

The four being called before the Board on June 28 are former Mattiello top-staffer Matthew Jerzyk; former Mattiello consultant Jeff Britt; former GOP candidate Shawna Lawton; and Lawton's campaign donor Teresa Graham. 

The end to this year’s legislative session added more problems — the final PawSox legislation crafted by Mattiello added an estimated $80 plus million to the financing cost of the stadium project, according to the Senate fiscal staff. While the legislation passed, the controversial financing structure seemed to satisfy no one. Democrat and Republican candidates alike are calling for Raimondo to veto the bill. Both Progressive Matt Brown and House Minority Leader Patricia Morgan — gubernatorial hopefuls — oppose the package.

The closing of the session was held up, in part, by a bill pushed by Mattiello for a Cranston insurance man who is a close political supporter of the Speaker. The legislation is coming under fire from the specialty insurance industry who warn that the legislation that passed the House earlier in the session and was jammed through the Senate on Saturday will have an adverse impact on everyone from homeowners within 5 miles of the coastline to those who own three-deckers. The industry says it is an anti-business bill.

Many in the State House are perplexed at the usually pro-business Mattiello pushing a bill that had just one supporter — Paul Damiano.

"After Mattiello barely escaped defeat in 2016, I thought he would begin to listen to the voters. Unfortunately, he hasn't. He refuses to give the public a chance to vote on a line-item veto constitutional amendment. Instead, he pushed through a costly new taxpayer-funded PawSox stadium deal, which the voters do not want. Rather than putting together an honest budget, his budgets rely on gimmicks," said Frias in his announcement on Monday.

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Steve Frias, at the Board of Elections in 2016

The Power is with the Speaker

By all accounts, the Speaker of the House is the most powerful political position in Rhode Island. Nick Mattiello ascended to the Speakership from the number two position after his predecessor and then-Speaker of the House Gordon Fox’s State House office was raided by the FBI.

By the end of March of 2014, Mattiello was entrenched as Speaker. His first two years he established himself as a strong pro-business Democrat and reluctant supporter of ethics reform. But, by 2016 some of the wheels on his leadership wagon began to come off.

First, House Finance Chair Ray Gallison — arguably the righthand man to the Speaker — resigned and was later charged, pled guilty to nine criminal charges, and was jailed. Then, Vice Chair of Finance John Carnevale was forced out of his seat and later charged.

As pressure began to build, the GOP ran Frias -- the Republican National Committeeman -- against Mattiello in the summer of 2016. He was a Boston-based lawyer, a Fall River native who attended Brown and then law school. He was an editorial page regular of the Providence Journal and close conservative colleague to the Editor of the Editorial page Ed Achorn. He was a perfect rival for Mattiello in District 15 — a conservative area encompassing Western Cranston.

During the summer of 2016, it was clear that the biggest election in Rhode Island was the battle between Mattiello and Frias.

Then, Mattiello’s leadership team was hit again. His Majority Leader John DeSimone was knocked off in the September Democratic Primary by a Marcia Ranglin-Vassell. The upset sent shockwaves through the RI political sphere.

"I just beat the establishment....fighting for all of us," wrote Ranglin-Vassell on her Facebook page just before 10 p.m.

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Mattiello during a 2017 standoff with the Senate

Mattiello poured tens of thousands into the race, hired every possible consultant, and pivoted his race. In early October, he announced if re-elected, he would eliminate the car tax. The move was brilliant and transformed a losing race.

On election night, Frias won the popular votes on machines, but Mattiello, the skilled politician claimed victory just after the polls closed — he knew his team of politicos had collected hundreds of mail ballots. “We’ll be up conservatively 300,” said Mattiello, referencing the mail ballots, to a crowd of over 100 supporters at the Oaklawn Grange in Cranston. 

After the Board of Elections certified Mattiello’s win by less than 100 votes over Frias, the Speaker returned to the State House in 2017 on a mission to eliminate the auto tax. 

In 2017, Mattiello won passage of legislation to phase-out the car tax, but also entered into a political brawl with newly elected Senate President Dominick Ruggerio. The two ended the session in a political disagreement that has carried over to present.  

Editor's Note: A former version identified Britt as a Raimondo consultant; he is currently not a paid advisor.

 

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