28 legislative contests on R.I. primary ballot

Sept. 05--They all talk about jobs and the economy, but if they aren't at odds over how to create those jobs, they might differ on tax policy or how to improve public schools.

In other cases, any common ground is superseded by more political concerns, such as who has been endorsed by whom.

All told, voters in Rhode Island will decide 28 legislative primary races on Tuesday -- 18 in the House and 10 in the Senate. And with those decisions, they will begin to determine the makeup of the next General Assembly.

Among the races to watch is the House District 7 contest between Rep. Maria Cimini and challenger Daniel McKiernan, both residents of Providence's Elmhurst neighborhood.

The race is unique in this sense: It is the only one in which House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, D-Cranston, is supporting a Democratic challenger over a Democratic incumbent.

Cimini, 38, a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program outreach coordinator who is seeking her third term, says she has been active across a range of issues, including education, the environment and the economy.

McKiernan, 48, a self-employed lawyer, said he is running because the middle class in Providence is becoming "an endangered species." He points to high taxes and struggling schools as two causes.

The solution, he said, is for lawmakers to make Rhode Island more business friendly -- by easing regulations that stymie smaller businesses, and by sometimes "thinking big." He points to resources such as Narragansett Bay and emerging technology that generates electricity from ocean waves and currents.

"We have a certain predictable current, volume of water, that goes up and down the Bay twice a day," he said. "Why don't we have the world's leading companies out there that are developing the technology?"

McKiernan says Cimini has been focused more on social issues than helping businesses or the middle class, but Cimini says that is misleading.

She points to her support for legislation that provides job training, links education leaders with business and industry leaders, and speeds up the permitting process for residential and smaller commercial projects. She also cited her support for a bill that would have allowed companies to avoid the corporate tax for their "first couple of years" as well as legislation that eliminates the wait for temporary disability insurance benefits.

"I support our economy by supporting families and by giving people the skills to get back to work," she said.

McKiernan won Mattiello's support after approaching him and asking for it, Mattiello said in a recent statement. "Like me, he is a moderate," Mattiello said of McKiernan.

Cimini said she has "read that the speaker feels that he and I don't share the same viewpoints," but she said she has been getting a "great response" from voters as she knocks on doors -- something all the primary candidates seem to be doing.

In another hard-fought House race, three Democrats are seeking the seat held by Gordon Fox, who resigned as House speaker in March after federal agents raided his East Side home and State House office. He did not give up his seat but is not seeking reelection.

All three support restoring Ethics Commission jurisdiction over the General Assembly, but they have their differences.

Aaron Regunberg, 24, a Brown University graduate who founded the Providence Student Union, a nonprofit advocacy group that has taken up issues such as high-stakes testing and transportation, says he is the only candidate in the race who has "a real record of bringing people together."

He said "the biggest issue" he hears about in the district is quality schools, an issue that he would address by rethinking tax cuts "for people at the very top" and using the added revenue to restore state aid to schools.

Miriam Ross, 61, a self-employed lawyer, says she is the candidate with real-world experience, from running a small business to drafting company ethics policies to teaching business ethics and serving, for a time, as a member of the Economic Task Force for Providence.

She said Rhode Island needs "economic growth" that will provide more money "for our cities and towns and underfunded programs." To that end, she supports "streamlining business regulations" and eliminating the $500 minimum corporate tax.

Heather Tow-Yick, 38, executive director of Teach for America, an alternative teacher training program, and assistant to the New York City schools chancellor from 2003 to 2005, says she is the only candidate in the race who has experience as a public school teacher.

She says education is her priority, followed by the "economy and the health of the business climate." She stops short of naming specific policy directions on education, but she says the goal is to "develop a system that has very high expectations and standards for teachers and for student learning." On the economy, she said she supports "anything that we can do to become more competitive."

Each primary race has its own dynamics.

In House District 58 in Pawtucket, Democrat Carlos Tobon -- who lost to Rep. William San Bento by one vote after four recounts in 2012 -- is running against Democrat Joseph Clark.

San Bento, who is retiring after 22 years, supports Clark, 29, a staff member at the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket and a substitute teacher assistant in the Pawtucket schools.

Clark said he wants to restore Ethics Commission jurisdiction over state lawmakers and end the moratorium on school construction. He also said he supports "anything that would help improve our small businesses," though he offered no specific proposals.

Tobon, 32, an "insurance professional" at Troy, Pires & Allen, in East Providence, a Coast Guard reserve petty officer and a self-described entrepreneur, said he wants to focus on the economy, education and the environment. A member of the Central Falls School District'sBoard of Trustees, he applauds the recent reduction in the state corporate tax, saying it shows businesses "that we want them to stay."

Over in Senate District 3, another East Side race has incumbent Gayle Goldin being challenged by Chris Wall.

Goldin, 43, the strategic initiatives officer at the Women's Fund of Rhode Island, says her first-term accomplishments include providing child-care support for people in job-training programs and providing temporary disability insurance for people caring for a newborn, a newly adopted child or a sick relative. Her goal is to continue helping the economy, she said, by "making sure people have money in their pockets."

Wall, 52, a Realtor and former press secretary and TV reporter, describes himself as a social progressive who supports streamlining business regulations, broadening and lowering the sales tax and boosting state aid to cities and towns by finding other savings in the state budget.

He said he is challenging a fellow Democrat because he didn't know in 2012 that then-Sen. Rhode Perry -- who filed declaration of candidacy papers and then pulled out of that race -- wasn't going to run. Perry supported Goldin, one of two Democrats who sought the seat that year.

Goldin, in turn, questions the support Wall has received from the National Association of Realtors Fund, which has invested more than $75,000 in the contest, in support of Wall, through independent expenditures.

While most of the primaries feature Democrats, there are three featuring Republicans, including one in Senate District 35, now represented by Republican Dawson Hodgson, who is running for attorney general.

Mark Gee, 71, a Vietnam combat veteran and East Greenwich Town Council member, said the state has barely begun to address its spending and revenue problems. "We certainly, in my opinion, don't have the kind of leadership that we need to get together and decide what...our financial priorities are going to be," he said.

Kimberly Page, 51, a self-employed lawyer from North Kingstown, said her priorities are jobs and the economy. She said she wants to eliminate the minimum $500 corporate tax on small businesses and make sure educational programs for students who are not going to college match the needs of local employers. "Together, those are two things that will make us more business friendly," she said.

PRIMARY PROFILES

GOVERNOR'S RACE

On future of Route 195 land

On education

Ken Block -- Allan Fung -- Todd Giroux -- Clay Pell -- Gina Raimondo -- Angel Taveras

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR'S RACE

Democrats -- Republicans

SECRETARY OF STATE

Democrats

TREASURER'S RACE

Race profile -- Caprio v Magaziner

R.I. ASSEMBLY

Legislative contests

1st CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Democrats -- Republicans

PROVIDENCE MAYOR'S RACE

Democrats

WARWICK MAYOR'S RACE

Republicans

VOTERS GUIDE

Job One Leadership: A scorecard for candidates' leadership qualities

___

(c)2014 The Providence Journal (Providence, R.I.)

Visit The Providence Journal (Providence, R.I.) at www.projo.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services