Ten RI Primaries to Watch in '16

1. House District 15

Who: Steven Frias v. Shawna Lawton

What: GOP Primary

Where: Cranston

The path to square off against Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello in Cranston starts in the Republican primary.  Republican National Committeeman Frias — who twice ran for State Senate unsuccessfully in his early 20s in Providence —  has consistently set his sights on the Speaker, and not his primary opponent, founder of Rhode Island Alliance for Vaccine Choice challenger Shawna Lawton.   

Lawton has also put criticizing Mattiello — who holds inarguably the State’s most powerful position — high on her agenda, taking him to task on how he recently handled developments on the 38 Studios and John Carnevale fronts.  Moreover, Lawton told WPRO that she will not debate Frias.   

The cohort of Republican voters that the candidates are looking to woo aren't high. In the 2014 Republican gubernatorial primary, 4065 votes were cast city-wide when Allan Fung squared off against Ken Block — and the recent GOP Presidential Preference primary saw just over 5,100 votes cast for GOP candidates city-wide in Cranston this past spring. 

Mattiello won in the general election unopposed in 2014 with almost 4200 votes.  And come the general election, independent Patrick Vallier waits in wings along with Mattiello, making for an always difficult cross-cutting three-way race. 

2. House District 5

Who: Marcia Ranglin-Vassell v. Rep. John DeSimone

What: Dem Primary

Where: Providence

DeSimone, the tax-beleaguered House Majority leader, recently shook off an ethics complaint filed by the Rhode Island Progressive Democrats for his failure to disclose his indebtedness to the City of Providence, as well as income derived from the city and state for his role in United Providence, which has received hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

First elected in 1992 and chosen as Majority Leader in 2014, DeSimone is facing a strong challenge from Progressive Democrat and Providence school teacher Marcia Ranglin-Vassell.  “Our community needs someone who will fight for us. For too long, we’ve had politicians who are only helping themselves and their well-connected friends,” Ranglin-Vassell said when she announced she would be running back in June.

She faces a formidable candidate in DeSimone, who despite his need to pay over $18,000 in back taxes, landed in the #6 slot on GoLocal’s list of legislators with the biggest war chests back in June, when he reported having over $111,111 cash on hand through the first quarter of the year.  The question now is will deep pockets and leadership machinery be a match for Ranglin-Vassell who has the backing of an energize Progressive Democrat operation this year. 

3. House District 60

Who: David Norton vs. Rep. David Coughlin 

What: Dem Primary

Where: Pawtucket

Pawtucket resident Norton has been campaigning long before he declared officially declared his candidacy this past January.  Norton had been one of the main organizers in the effort to keep the PawSox at McCoy, when the effort arose in 2015 by the new owners to move the AAA team to a new, taxpayer-subsidized stadium in Providence.  

After notching that win — for now — Norton joined forces with City Councilor Sandra Cano to hold a series of “Crash Pawtucket” events to bring residents to a different establishment each month, to rev up support for small business in the city.

Opponent Coughlin was first elected in 2014 when he ran unopposed, which Norton said was “handed” to him by House leadership.  Coughlin recently fired back at Norton’s position on the plans for a new train station in Pawtucket. 

“This train station will raise the quality of life for Pawtucket’s residents and businesses and it will breathe new life to an area that is still recovering from the Great Recession. Combined with his opposition to the millions of dollars to fix Pawtucket’s roads and bridges, and our state investments to find ways to rebuild and renovate McCoy Stadium, my opponent does not seem to be in touch with the needs of the people and businesses of Pawtucket,” said Coughlin. 

Pictured: David Norton

4. House District 54

Who: Bill Deware v. Rep. Bill O’Brien 

What: Dem Primary

Where: North Providence

Incumbent Rep. Bill O’Brien and progressive challenger Bill Deware have been trading barbs throughout the summer in North Providence, with the Progressives going after O’Brien about missing ethics filings, and O’Brien releasing a video of his campaign signs being stolen in the district — and questioning Deware’s voting record, having voted in Johnston while living in the district. 

"I think people should be more concerned on the issues than worrying about signs and petty politics, when there are policy issues to debate,” said Deware following the sign incident. O’Brien, meanwhile hit out at Deware on this issue of his voting. "I am deeply disturbed by this revelation. My opponent admits to committing voter fraud multiple times.  People have fought and died to protect the right to vote fairly and I have a colleague from Pawtucket who lost an election by one vote," said O'Brien.  

Deware, who is endorsed by the Progressive Democrats, recently came back from a hospitalization from meningitis that had left him in a coma — but said in a statement that full recover is expected.

Pictured: Bill Deware

5. Senate District 8

Who: Matt Fecteau v. Mark Theroux v. Sen. Jamie Doyle

What: Dem Primary

Where: Pawtucket

The three-way Democratic primary in Senate District 8 in Pawtucket which features six-time incumbent Jamie Doyle; Matt Fecteau, who ran against United States Representative David Cicilline in the 2014 primary; and Mark Theroux, is one of the top races to watch this primary election.

In 2014, Fecteau, a political newcomer, was able to snag 37% of the vote in the primary in the first Congressional district against Cicilline, with 22,447 votes to Cicilline’s 38,186.  Meanwhile, Doyle needed to amend his ethics filings after admitting he failed to disclose tens of thousands of dollars in personal and business debts. WPRI reported Doyle filed the amended the amended ethics reports after he had “not disclosed multiple liens on his home and business properties related to unpaid taxes.”

Meanwhile, the Valley Breeze reported that Theroux’s wife, who is on the Democratic Committee for Senate District 8, voted to endorse…Doyle.  

Pictured: Jamie Doyle

6. House District 67

Who: Jason Knight v. Rep. Jan Malik

What: Dem Primary

Where: Barrington/Warren

Incumbent Malik, who was first elected to the House in 1996, is facing a fierce challenge from primary opponent Jason Knight.

Sam Bell with the Progressive Democrats highlighted the race back in June. "Malik has been extremely ideologically conservative, with an 'A plus' rating from the NRA. He voted against marriage equality and his district isn't extremely right wing -- it's very liberal on social issues. And Warren is a place where you saw two successful progressive town council primaries last cycle, knocking out established [Democrats]," said Bell. 

Meanwhile, Malik questioned Knight’s client list as a former defense attorney, representing defendants accused of sexual assault and child porn charges. "I believe it is the public's right to know what a person does for a living and who that person represents," said Malik. “Personally, I am very disappointed to learn about some of the clients that my opponent represents.”

Pictured: Jason Knight

7. House District 64

Who: Brian Coogan v. Helder Cunha 

What: Dem Primary

Where: East Providence

The East Providence battle pits a former State Representative against a Democratic candidate who is currently under investigation by the State Ethics Commission. 

In 2004, outgoing District 64 State Representative Helio Melo challenged then-incumbent Coogan in a four-way Democratic Primary, winning with 970 votes (62.1%) and then prevailing in a three-way general election.  Now, Coogan is seeking a return to his former seat. 

This past July, GoLocal reported that Cunha, who current serves as East Providence Assistant Mayor, had been been barred from trading in the futures industry by the National Futures Association, the industry-wide, regulatory organization for the U.S. derivatives industry.  Then earlier this month, East Providence Mayor Thomas Rose filed an ethics complaint against Cunha, which the Ethics Commission voted to investigate.

Pictured: Helder Cunha

8. Senate District 7

Who: Doris De Los Santos v. Rep. Frank Ciccone

What: Dem Primary

Where: Providence, North Providence 

Senator Frank Ciccone, who was first elected in 2002, is being challenged by Doris De Los Santos, who garnered the endorsement of the Progressive Democrats.

“In 2012 Governor Chafee appointed Doris as the director of the Office of Municipal and External Affairs. Her opponent, Frank Ciccone, has been involved in several scandals, including threatening a police officer who had pulled over conservative Senate Majority Leader Dominic Ruggerio for drunk driving,” wrote the Progressive Democrats in their release. 

De Los Santos recently took to Facebook to call out Ciccone on issues of graffiti and neighborhood bars’ closing times - and Ciccone fired back. “This is a political race, and she’s distorting the facts,” said Ciccone.

9. House District 9

Who: Michael Gazdacko v. Rep. Anastasia Williams 

What: Dem Primary

Where: Providence

Michael Gazdacko, a West End resident and member of the City Plan Commission, announced his candidacy in June as a Democrat for State Representative in District 9 — to take on incumbent Rep. Anastasia Williams.

In May of this year, GOP Chair Brandon Bell filed an ethics complaint against Williams for failing to disclose her employment with the city of Providence on her state financial disclosure form.

In 2014, the ousted Executive Director of the John Hope Settlement House alleged that Board President Rep. Williams had used the house for political purposes, without compensating the organization, including holding a campaign event for then-Democratic candidate for Governor Gina Raimondo.

GoLocal reported that Williams appointed former discredited head of ProCAP, Frank Corbishley, to serve as the interim Executive Director in the wake of former Director Taino Palermo's sudden departure, when Palermo challenged Williams' leadership.

10. Senate District 17

Who: Hagop Setrak Jawharjian v. Dennis Lavallee v. Keven McKenna v. Gina Petrarca-Karampetsos

What: Dem Primary

Where: Lincoln

It certainly has been a district in flux, never mind a four-candidate field slated to square off in the Democratic primary. 

Sen. Edward O'Neill went from being an Independent to a Republican, then announced he wouldn't be seeking re-election in 2016 as he possibly mulls a run for Governor or General Treasurer. 

So get your score card ready -- you'll need it to keep track of this lawyer-rich wild west of primaries. 

Pictured: Ed O'Neill

Editor's note: A previous version included Louis Azar, who did not get the number of signatures needed.