This may be the biggest election year in Rhode Island history. The Governor's race may set a record for campaign spending and all five candidates can claim a legitimate path for how they can be the next Governor. Amazingly, the Governor's race may be dwarfed by the electric race for Mayor of Providence.
No one running for office in the United States has the back story as complex and controversial as Vincent "Buddy" Cianci, Jr. The two-time convicted felon is the most controversial elected official in the history of a state that thrives on controversial elected officials.
Moreover, this year there are highly competitive races for all the general offices - many with highly competitive primaries.
"From a strategic basis both the Republicans vying for Governor made the mistake of going into the attack mode too soon. General campaign strategy is to allow the voters to know more about who you are and once they're familiar with your record you can begin to draw comparisons to your opponent. In this year's race the decision of the Fung campaign to run the Block-head ad and the Block campaign to respond directly to the charges only succeeded in turning the race into a he said, he said negative dialogue," said Kay Israel, Professor of Communications at Rhode Island College.
This year the blunders have been fast and furious - from a candidate that owes hundreds of thousands in government loans and yet lends his campaign $300,000 to the candidate running for Governor who forgot to vote in half the elections as an adult.
Clay Pell speaking at his announcement for Governor
Biggest Blunders Vary
"Clay Pell takes the blunder award. He would have the voters believe that he shuns special interests while he openly celebrates the public support and campaign guidance from the National Education Association of RI (NEARI) and its paid officials," said Pam Gencarella of OSTPA.
According to News 920 radio talk show host Ron St. Pierre, a number of missteps have taken top billing in the campaign season so far.
"I honestly don't see any massive screw ups so far," said St. Pierre. "Maybe Clay Pell waiting to be the last of the big 3 [Democratic] candidates to start an on-air blitz especially when it seems his on-air campaign may be moving the needle now."
St. Pierre continued "Or, Ralph Mollis not vetting who owned the home he was renting in North Kingstown…the CEO of a company he gave a state deal to...and now renting from Chafee? Bad optics? The ANYONE BUT BUDDY movement....could it backfire and look like folks, Lorne Adrian included, are ganging up on Buddy. Does it give Buddy the opportunity to generate empathy among voters?"
Taking Voters for Granted
"Across the board, too many races are using formulaic media approaches. Wives, children, steelworkers, mothers, and others either explaining the candidates' positions or attacking the opponent seem to ignore the real concern of Rhode Island voters. The ads are all too reminiscent of local attorney ads shot by national marketers," said Professor Israel. "The road map for the campaign is the same no matter what state; instead you insert the name of the appropriate candidate. 'Been in an auto accident, call the law offices of' is replaced with 'I'm like you, my (insert the relationship) worked for a living, so vote for me.' Cookie cutter campaigns, with derivative messages structure have become the norm."
With just under 45 days to the primary and a little less than 100 days to the General Election, it is time to a take at some of the biggest campaign blunders to date. More are sure to come.
Related Slideshow: The Big Campaign Blunders of 2014
2014 is one of the most expensive and competitive election cycles ever in Rhode Island. Take a look at some of the miscues by the candidates and their campaigns.
The party that prides itself in championing minorities and women has failed to endorse a woman or a minority for statewide office.
The Rhode Island Democratic party went "all white guy" endorsing Peter Kilmartin for Attorney General, Ralph Mollis for Lt. Governor and selected Guillaume De Ramel for Secretary of State.
The Democrats could have easily endorsed either Raimondo or Taveras for Governor, but chose not to endorse with the grandson of patrician RI politician Claiborne Pell joining the race.
The Dems could have also selected Nellie Gorbea for Secretary of State, but instead went with super wealthy De Ramel.
According to former Providence Journal Political Reporter Charlie Bakst in a Facebook post, "I watched the WPRI Channel 12 debate between Nellie Gorbea and Guillaume De Ramel, candidates for the Democratic nomination for secretary of state. It reinforced my belief that she is the better choice. On the program, responding to questions from Tim White and Ted Nesi, Gorbea came across as more knowledgeable, more animated, and certainly more experienced than De Ramel, no surprise since she used to be deputy secretary of state and already has dealt with such issues as open records and lobbying."
More than 50 members of the RI General Assembly are running for re-election without opposition, and while the Speaker may be safe for his own re-election, for the Democrats who have a competitive race, the Speaker didn't do anyone a favor by another 38 Studios bailout vote and a resolution congratulating the disgraced former Speaker Gordon Fox.
Fox sparked the first federal raid in the State House's history when the IRS and FBI agents raided his office in March. For legislators running for office who voted for 38 Studios funding yet again - their challengers have all the fire power needed to topple an incumbent in a state with the highest unemployment, an ethical crisis and a track record of 38 Studio bailouts.
No candidate seems more out of step with the voter than Providence City Council President Michael Solomon.
Solomon has owed the City of Providence hundreds of thousands of dollars for more than two decades from a loan that he and other developers received. Without paying back the loan, he personally loaned his campaign $300,000. When challenged by Jim Hummel of The Hummel Report, he claimed it was a personal issue.
In a debate against fellow GOP candidate Allan Fung for Governor, Block was asked what elected officials in RI he respected and said none.
Oops, earlier in the day he had appeared with some Republican GOP members. Block needs to prove he has some GOP street cred and failing to identify any member of the GOP was a gaffe and if nothing else a missed opportunity to contextualize the race.
Block could have claimed Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and John Chafee as Republicans who have fought for great things. Instead - a blunder.
Before Fung does a celebration on Block's blunder, Fung's track record of donating the both state and federal Democratic leaders in most states would disqualify him from any GOP office. Fung's generosity for Democratic candidates far outpaces his donations to leading GOP candidates.
According to the Rhode Island Board of Elections records, in 2002, while a paid lobbyist for MetLife, Fung gave $200 to then Democratic Senate President Irons and $250 to then Providence State Representative Cicilline; in 2007, Fung gave $200 to former Democratic State Representative Costantino and $150 to then-candidate for Attorney General Patrick Lynch; and in February 2008, gave $150 to Democratic Speaker of the House Fox.
In 2010, Fung gave $1000 to Mayor Angel Taveras.
6) Forgot to Vote, Lost His Car, Wife Only Voted Once
When you are just 32 years old, it is reasonable for voters to ask if you are ready to lead a state with massive economic problems. For Clay Pell, his campaign has tripped over and misplayed a sweeping array of issues. Forget that he has never had a private sector job or managed anyone outside of of a couple of government appointments, it is the endless series of miscues:
You have to wonder how Pell will handle a riot in a prison or a banking crisis. As RIC professor Kay Israel tells GoLocal, "The other category for super blunders is the misjudging of the Rhode Island voter. Candidates whether leasing an apartment or home, conducting an investigation of police malfeasance, closing a community pool, not reporting the theft of a car, etc. should know that each of these can and should be the subject of public discussion. They often assume that a weak or strictly political response will put the matter to rest. While the adage says, "You can't go wrong underestimating the intelligence of the voter," campaigning with that approach only demeans the process and lowers the public's estimation of those running for office."
7) Taveras: Running for Gov and Running Away from Providence
Taveras has been missing on the big issues in Providence from the opening of the Davey Lopes Pool to shooting and gang violence across the city.
Angel Taveras's campaign is focused on Rhode Island. He seems to have intentionally forgotten about Providence - his failure to attend the dedication of the refurbished Davey Lopes pool came across as poor sportsmanship. Taveras fought for months to close the swimming pool.
More recently, during a string of shootings across the city Taveras has been MIA - he is failed to demonstrate leadership or compassion and has failed to answer media questions. His campaign is following a strategy of running for Governor, but also running away from Providence.
While many of the blunders reflect poorly on the professionalism of the candidate or his campaign team, the recent statements by Seth Magaziner seem to be blatantly misleading. Repeatedly, Magaziner has claimed to be an investment professional.
"I believe that Seth Magaziner has made the biggest campaign blunder to date. Magaziner has exaggerated his experience as an investment professional in saying that he managed investments, when in reality he's never been more than a research analyst who helped draft research reports for the real decision makers at the firm he worked for," said political consultant and GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™ Russ Moore. "It's like a Walmart stock boy saying he was the national head of logistics. I don't think Rhode Islanders will react favorably when presented these facts."
Former Republican candidate for Congress in the 2nd district and investment professional Mike Riley said, "No question the biggest blunder is Seth Magaziner's huge blunder of choosing to lie about his credentials
"[Magaziner] claimed in the Treasurer debate opening statement, "As an investment professional I've taken on the Wall Street banks and the predatory lenders and at the same time I've made strong investment returns for my clients."
Riley continued, "I see no evidence whatsoever that Seth Magaziner has ever professionally managed a penny. He spent summer 2006 interning for Point Judith Capital. He then taught for 2 years and got his Yale MBA. He has at most 3 years with trillium asset management where he self identified as a "research analyst" in a November 2013 interview with the Wall Street Journal. So 7 months ago he wasn't managing money."
One thing you can say about Buddy Cianci is he is the master political strategist, but this time he may have over thought the strategy. In a four way race in the Democratic primary, Cianci had a huger advantage, but whether because of his illness and needing more recovery or whether due to over analysis, Cianci now may be faced with the need to get to the high 40% level against the Democratic nominee and GOP candidate Dan Harrop.
Who wins the Democratic may be the deciding factor - a win by Jorge Elorza could be trouble for Cianci, as it could align the Southside- East Side coalition that Taveras enjoyed.
"The biggest blunder of the campaign season so far was Buddy Cianci entering the Providence Mayor's race as an Independent rather than as a Democrat. If he had declared as a Democrat, he could easily have carved out a winning swath of voters in a fractured primary field, and won the general election on the party label alone. As an independent, though, he faces the party label as an outsider, and does not have nearly enough of his old supporters left to overcome it in November," said John Perrilli, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™.
