Countdown to the Congressional Primary: How Do They Plan to Win?
Friday, August 13, 2010
With the primary now just one month away, the campaign for the Congressional First District seat is swinging into the homestretch. As voters start to pay more attention, the four Democrats facing each other in the primary are beginning to release their first round of television advertising. GoLocalProv spoke with the campaigns about how they plan to come out on top in a crowded four-way primary.
David Segal: It’s David vs. David
For David Segal, the campaign will come down to a race between himself and Providence Mayor David Cicilline—as the two candidates with the most experience in elected office, according to Segal campaign manager Rachel Miller.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTShe said Segal will be releasing television ads drawing a contrast between his record as a city councilor and what Cicilline has done as mayor. “People aren’t interested in attacks, but we’re looking at doing some deep contrasts between someone who has a reputation as a liberal and a progressive, when in fact he doesn’t walk the talk—when in fact David Segal has been fighting for the people of Rhode Island,” Miller said.
One bone of contention between to two campaigns is the First Source Ordinance in Providence, which requires that companies that receive a tax credit or tax break from the city make their first hires off a list of unemployed Providence residents. The ordinance passed in 1985—but was not enforced for two decades, according to Miller.
Miller said Segal led a group of city councilors and jobs advocates in suing Cicilline in 2006—winning a Providence Superior Court order that forced the city to implement the ordinance. But now, she said Cicilline is distorting the record. “He’s talking about this program as something that he did under his administration, with his blessing, when in fact he was forced to by Superior Court,” Miller said.
With just one month left to the September 14 primary, the Segal campaign is focusing on a grassroots campaign with an army of more than 400 volunteers. But, with a fundraising haul of more than $100,000 in the second quarter, Miller said the campaign plans to be competitive in television advertising as well.
David Cicilline: Counting on Grassroots as Much as Fundraising
While other campaigns may see it as a liability, David Cicilline sees his record as mayor of Providence as an asset to his campaign. “David Cicilline’s record speaks for itself,” said spokesman Rich Luchette. “In eight years as Mayor of Providence, he's done the legwork to get things done for Rhode Island families. In Congress, he will keep fighting to make sure Rhode Island families have a strong voice in Washington.”
Campaign manager Eric Hyers disputed the Segal campaign’s claims about the First Source Ordinance. “The mayor did what no one had for 20 years. He was trying to finally enforce and implement the First Source Ordinance,” Hyers said. “It’s ironic that he was sued for doing more than previous mayors to actually implement the ordinance.”
Cicilline is entering the final month with a 4 to 1 lead over Segal in fundraising—but he isn’t counting on his money to carry him across the finish line, according to Hyers. He said the campaign has the strongest ground game of any—pointing to the turnout of supporters at the Channel 12 debate, the endorsement of the state party, and the 2,725 verified signatures it turned in, compared with only 788 for Segal.
He said the campaign has decided that a grassroots strategy is the best way of countering an expected onslaught of negative advertising in the next several weeks. “David and I both believe in this—nothing is more effective than face to face, neighbor to neighbor conversations,” Hyers said.
He said people may be surprised at how Cicilline has been able to broaden his base of support beyond Providence. “He has way more support than people might think in places like Burrillville, Woonsocket, Cumberland, and Pawtucket,” Hyers said.
Anthony Gemma: ‘An Outsider and a Businessman’
In the final weeks of the campaign, Anthony Gemma’s main message to voters is that he is an outsider whose background in business best qualifies him to deal with the number one issue—creating jobs, according to acting campaign manager Dan Mercer. “He is a businessman. He’s done it. He knows how to do it,” Mercer said. “The other candidates can talk about creating jobs all they want but they have never felt what it was like to create jobs.”
The Gemma campaign views the three other candidates as part of the political establishment responsible for the problems facing the state, Mercer said. “They’re the ones who got us into this mess and now Anthony’s stepping up to try to get us out of it,” he said. “They had their chance, now it’s Anthony’s chance.”
In the second quarter, Gemma raised just under $40,000 but had a war chest of about $181,000, thanks in large part to $200,500 he loaned to his campaign. So far, Gemma has not made another loan, according to Mercer, but Gemma has previously stated that he would be willing to invest more of his money if necessary.
Mercer said the campaign is committed to victory in the primary. “We’re out in the trenches—you can see that on Facebook,” he said. “The more we can continue to get our message out, the more responsive (voters) will be.”
Bill Lynch: ‘Not a Career Politician’
He may have served as the state Democratic Party chairman for a dozen years, but Bill Lynch’s main pitch to voters is that he is a non-career politician with the real-world experience necessary to fix Washington, according to spokesman Bill Fischer. “He knows what it’s like to pay college tuition for his children and health insurance for his employees,” Fischer said.
Of the three other candidates, Gemma is also styling himself as an outsider, but his campaign has other drawbacks, Fischer said. “His ideas are so hokey, it’s painful to watch,” he said, specifically referring to Gemma’s proposal for a government information Web site designed to look like a dashboard. “These are not real solutions. There is no iPhone app in leadership.”
So far, Lynch has come out with one major policy proposal—a plan for term limits of 12 years for members of Congress. Fischer said he will come out with a number of other proposals in the final weeks of the campaign, but he declined to go discuss what those might be.
Lynch collected about $55,000 in donations in the second quarter and had nearly 139,000 cash in hand. Fischer declined to say much money has been raised since the close of the second quarter.
