Gemma to Call on Cicilline to Resign Today
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Democratic Congressional candidate Anthony Gemma is expected to call on incumbent Congressman David Cicilline to resign from his post during a press conference at his Providence headquarters this afternoon, GoLocalProv has learned.
Gemma claims he’ll explain why he hired a private investigation firm run by former State Troopers to look into voter fraud in the capital city. In a press advisory sent last week, Gemma claimed he’ll also discuss “other potential criminal actions by David Cicilline and his associates,” although his campaign has refused to release additional information about the press conference.
Congressman Cicilline’s campaign did not wish to comment for this story, but campaign manager Eric Hyers referred to Gemma’s press conference as a “desperate and outrageous stunt” in a statement last week.
"If Anthony Gemma has something to say or an accusation to make he needs to say it now and show whatever proof he claims he has,” Hyers said. ”This is a desperate and outrageous stunt; he ought to put up or shut up today.”
Gemma Called on Cicilline to End Campaign in 2010
This wouldn’t be the first time Gemma has suggested Cicilline should step away from a Congressional race.
A week before the 2010 Democratic primary, Gemma sent a letter to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) imploring the group to ask then-Mayor Cicilline to “end his Congressional campaign immediately.” At the time, Gemma was reacting to a report that claimed Cicilline violated the city charter by accepting salary increases.
“In my letter to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, I shall offer a comprehensive chronicle of David Cicilline’s intentional misstatements of fact, unscrupulous campaign tactics, and heinous failures of leadership and judgment both as candidate for Congress and as mayor of Providence,” Gemma said in 2010. “I shall then demonstrate that this incident, in its entirety, has been exposed by the media and is common knowledge among Rhode Island’s First District voters. Finally, I shall substantiate the argument that even though Cicilline may not prevail on Primary Day, the eventual Democratic nominee will have to bear a significant degree of guilt by association for the remainder of the campaign.”
Gemma went on to finish second (behind Cicilline) in a four-way primary.
Plan Could Backfire
Since announcing his plan to challenge Cicilline again earlier this year, Gemma has rarely commented publicly about the Congressman, instead choosing to focus his criticism on Republican candidate Brendan Doherty, who held a double-digit lead over both Gemma and Cicilline in a WPRI poll released in February.
But last week, Gemma decided to turn his attention back toward his primary opponent. Just before announcing his press conference last week, he posted an obscure comment on his Facebook page claiming news was about to break.
“Be prepared for breaking news that will have an immediate, stunning, game-changing impact on Rhode Island politics,” Gemma wrote. “It will make national headlines. Lives will be changed profoundly – and mostly for the better. Yes, the news will upset us and challenge us. It will require us to tap deep resources of personal strength and to be outraged by the manner in which we have been governed for years. But we are strong. And we are patriots who will realize that it is not our system of government that is corrupt, but only those who have abused the system in support of their hideous personal agendas. We will survive this, and emerge stronger than ever. And through it all, I will be there for you.”
But others have warned that the public should not jump to conclusions until they hear what Gemma has to say. On Monday, several political observers suggested Gemma needs to have direct evidence that Cicilline participated in voter fraud efforts if the candidate’s claims are to be considered credible.
Rhode Island College professor Dr. Kay Israel said Gemma’s unconventional strategy of holding a press conference to unveil opposition research could backfire.
“If it's not really earthshaking one can only wonder about that candidate's ability to make important and realistic decisions,” Israel said. “Gemma can't afford to be in a ‘Henny Penny’ situation. Without a strong issue, confirmable research, and a viable reason for delaying his announcement for a week, he may lose more than he can gain.”
Dan McGowan can be reached at dmcgowan@golocalprov.com. Follow him on Twitter: @danmcgowan.
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Comments:
donatello gori
7:26am on Wednesday, August 22, 2012
anyone but david in 2012!!!!!
Joel Hovanesian
7:35am on Wednesday, August 22, 2012
I hope he does have information that sheds light into the hideous nature of RI politics. For it to come out in a public forum would be a breath of fresh air.
Lance Chappell
7:51am on Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Cicilline is not going to fold his tent unless Gemma has something solid to connect him to the fraud. This is a high stakes move by Gemma to make a knock-out blow on Cicilline, With Cicilline’s very low approval ratings, if the info is accurate, it would do much more damage to him BUT the way Cicilline is, he is so arrogant, he just won’t go away.
Edward Smith
8:17am on Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Today Gemma will call on Cicilline to follow his example: drop out of the race and support Doherty.
Roger Williams
9:11am on Wednesday, August 22, 2012
But voter fraud doesn't exist and can't exist! We know this because Democratic politicians have asserted it over and over!
Art West
9:53am on Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Even if Gemma's revelation is a dud, it will still serve to refresh everyone's memory of Cicilline's raiding of Providence's rainy day fund and deception regarding his actions, so as not to ruin his first run for Congress.
Todd B
10:30am on Wednesday, August 22, 2012
"On Monday, several political observers suggested Gemma needs to have direct evidence that Cicilline participated in voter fraud efforts if the candidate’s claims are to be considered credible."
That may be true for the so-called "political observers" who are hardcore supporters of Cicilline, but the rest of Rhode Island--you know, those who actually vote with the result that Cicilline's poll numbers are at the bottom of Narragansett Bay--that isn't the case at all.
If Gemma can show that Cicilline had paid staffers or city employees engaging in voter fraud and he should have known about it, then Cicilline will not be a congressman come next January.
As for the "political observer" chattering class, you'd think Cicilline's numbers were in the mid-60's if you listened to them. Their comments just go to show the huge gulf between those who really know and understand politics vs. those who "study" politics and offer opinions from an ivory tower.
Hey, what was that Brown poly sci professor's name who tried to run against Langevin? Yet another expert "political observer"....
zan nordlund
10:57am on Wednesday, August 22, 2012
So, is he going to tell us "Where the pig KEEPS its lipstick," or where it can "put" it?
Ed Jucation
11:51am on Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Hope Gemma has the goods on "David the Destroyer".