Rhode Island’s 10 Ugliest Races of 2012
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
From vicious campaign commercials to nasty mailers and threatened lawsuits, some candidates are doing whatever it takes to paint their opponents with a negative brush. With Election Day less than 24 hours away, GoLocalProv breaks down ten of the ugliest political races of 2012.
House District 4: Gordon Fox, Mark Binder
Just over a month ago, House Speaker Gordon Fox told GoLocalProv he didn’t “have any personal knowledge” that well-known political operative (and former Fox consultant) Jeff Britt was running Independent candidate Mark Binder’s campaign in District 4. Now he knows.
As Binder attacked Fox on everything from 38 Studios to voter id laws and same-sex marriage, outside forces paid for a brutal radio ad and a mailer that suggested the Speaker was the key architect behind the deal that brought Curt Schilling’s failed video game company to the Ocean State.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Fox campaign fired back by filing multiple complaints with the Board of Elections claiming Binder’s campaign was not properly reporting its expenditures and then releasing mailer of its own that criticized Binder for allowing his campaign to be “run and financed by out-of-state Republican operatives and Don Carceiri allies who are anti-marriage equality.”
House District 46: Jay O’Grady, Matt Guerra, Mary Ann Shallcross Smith, Paul DiDomenico
This House race got dirty last week when Shallcross Smith, a former Democratic State Rep. now running as an Independent, attacked Guerra, a Republican, for having inappropriate conversations with Lincoln High School students on Twitter and for a picture posted to his Facebook page. In an e-mail to GoLocalProv last week, she defended her actions, saying, “Mr. Guerra’s inappropriate activities are clearly his doing and he needs to take responsibility for them.”
Guerra says he plans to file a defamation lawsuit.
1st Congressional District: David Cicilline, Brendan Doherty, David Vogel
The state’s most high profile race only got more heated over the final two weeks when the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) released a commercial linking Congressman Cicilline to the criminals he defended during his time as a lawyer. Roll Call ranked the ad No. 3 in its “meanest, most vicious, most depraved House and Senate political advertisements” of the year.
Cicilline and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) meanwhile have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars tying Doherty to the National GOP, which Cicilline claims "wants to end Medicare as we know it."
Senate District 36: James Sheehan, Tina McKendall
Incumbent Senator James Sheehan has a battle on his hands with Tina McKendall and has attempted to link the Republican candidate with what a recent mailer called “her Tea Party heroes.” The mailer used the words “extreme” or “extremism” three times and suggested McKendall opposes more oversight over the EDC and more funding for higher education and the developmentally disabled.
Senate District 26: Sean Gately, Frank Lombardi
In the race to replace retiring Senator Bea Lanzi, Republican candidate Sean Gately has spent the better portion of the last two months attacking Democrat Frank Lombardi on everything from the daddy/daughter dance controversy in Cranston to the deficit the city’s school department faces. Lombardi, who currently serves on the school committee, has spent over $70,000 since Jan. 1 in his quest to lock down the Senate seat.
House District 47 Cale Keable, Donald Fox
The bitter race between incumbent Cale Keable and Republican Donald Fox dates back to 2010 when Keable barely knocked off Fox to win his first term in the House, but animosity only increased earlier this year when Fox was redistricted out of District 47. The alleged gerrymander has led the state Republican Party to file a lawsuit against House Speaker Gordon Fox. Donald Fox has since moved back into the district and the race is considered too close to call heading into Election Day.
Senate District 27: Hanna Gallo, Robert Lancia, Aram Garabedian
Democratic State Senator Hanna Gallo is trying to hold on to her seat in a three-way battle, but wealthy Independent candidate Aram Garabedian (the owner of the Warwick Mall) is considered a major threat. That’s why a recent Gallo mailer ripped Garabedian for allowing taxes to increase every year he was on the Cranston City Council and for having the 5th worst attendance during his previous tenure in the State Senate.
Senate District 19: Beth Moura, Ryan Pearson
38 Studios is a major issue in more than a dozen General Assembly races around the state, but in District 19, Republican Beth Moura is being blamed for the failed video game company despite not even being in office when the deal was hatched. Pearson, a Democrat, has distanced himself from the group who sent out the mailer (the Working Families Coalition), but the damage may already be done.
House District 50 Jon Brien, Stephen Casey
After the union-backed Casey knocked off Brien in September’s Democratic primary, the incumbent announced his plans to launch a write-in campaign. Over the next several weeks, Brien also accused Casey, a firefighter, of violating the Hatch Act and suggested he allowed union groups to fund his mailers at a discounted rate. The Office of Special Counsel has since found that Casey is allowed to serve as a firefighter and hold elected office.
North Providence Town Council District 3: Kristen Catanzaro, Joe Zuccolo, Daniel Connor
North Providence is always one of the most entertaining political communities and this year is no different as Catanzaro, the Council President, is facing a serious challenge from Independent Joe Zuccolo. Catanzaro has attacked Zuccolo for failing to pay $15,000 in rent owed to an elderly woman. Meanwhile, Catanzaro has come under fire for saying she was endorsed by Mayor Charles Lombardi, who has made it clear he is supporting the Independent candidate.
Dan McGowan can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @danmcgowan.
