Another Democrat says he will not support Mattiello as speaker

Sept. 18--PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- As rare as it is to hear even one Democratic lawmaker renounce a sitting House speaker, a second Rhode Island Democrat has come forward to say he will not vote again to make Cranston Democrat Nicholas Mattiello the leader of the House of Representatives.

Lawyer and first-term state Rep. Jason Knight of Barrington told The Journal over the weekend: "I am not running for speaker and I am not seeking it ... I also am not supporting Nicholas Mattiello for speaker if he is reelected."

Among Knight's stated reasons for withdrawing his support from Mattiello, who won his last election as speaker with the vote of every Democrat present on the first day of the 2017 session: "I am extraordinarily disappointed with how the PawSox situation turned out ... I was extraordinarily disappointed with the fact that the Democratic leadership team in the House of Representatives has chosen to go after other Democrats in the elections."

Of the Pawtucket Red Sox' decision to relocate to Worcester after Mattiello blocked a version of a stadium-financing bill backed by the governor and Senate in favor of one stripped of guarantees of taxpayer support, Knight said: "I think it is a failure of leadership and I think it is a firing offense."

Knight's statements echo those of state Rep. Mary Duffy Messier of Pawtucket last week. But it remains unclear if their two voices reflect a tremor -- or a political earthquake -- in the 75-member, Democrat-dominated House. Mattiello has been speaker since March 2014 when, in a matter of days, he mustered the votes needed to replace the tainted and ultimately jail-bound Gordon Fox as speaker.

The response from Mattiello campaign spokeswoman Patti Doyle: "Speaker Mattiello enjoys the overwhelming support of his Democratic colleagues in the House and is looking forward to continuing as Speaker once he is reelected by his District 15 constituents on Election Day."

"With respect to the PawSox issue, the Speaker's overarching responsibility was to protect the taxpayers who well communicated through their representatives statewide that they would not accept a state guarantee, nor would they accept the financial risk associated with earlier PawSox legislation. It's interesting that Rep. Knight now voices his disappointment. He must have agreed with the Speaker in his efforts to protect the taxpayers because he voted in favor of the legislation."

In the end, she said, Rhode Island was also outbid: "The deal put forward by the City of Worcester was well beyond what Rhode Island was ever considering."

A potential challenger to Mattiello has emerged: Rep. John Lombardi, a former Providence city councilman and acting mayor before his 2012 election to the House.

Lombardi told The Journal: "Of course I am interested in being the speaker and I would not be against taking him on. I think we need a change in that room ... [so] people can at least have their legislation heard. One person should not be that powerful."

"This leadership makes no effort ... to reach over the table and say, 'OK, we've got an issue with this, how can we resolve it.' There's no communication," he said. "You just don't do business that way. This is about give-and-take. This is about compromise, open lines of communication. There has been a serious lack thereof."

These comments come less than two weeks after a group of female incumbents -- and candidates -- held a "pink wave" news conference at the State House to draw attention to both their numbers and their frustration at the number of high-priority bills the House leadership would not bring to a vote.

Their list included bills to enshrine in state law the protections of the landmark abortion-rights decision known as Roe v. Wade, encourage pay equity between male and female workers and extend Rhode Island's seven-year statute of limitations for filing lawsuits against priests and others who sexually abuse children.

Also cited: the lack of action on any of the bills recommended by a commission studying workplace sexual harassment. Asked if Mattiello still had her vote, the chairwoman of that commission -- Rep. Teresa Tanzi -- was noncommittal. "But I will say ... the way so many bills were left on the table was an incredible disappointment."

"In the whole I don't want a speaker more concerned about the 85 votes he won by [in his home-district in 2016] than the 74 votes of the people who put him in the speaker's seat." she said. "We will all be looking at the speaker's race very carefully and looking for someone who doesn't have the same burdens that a very conservative district carries with it."

Knight's name was on the short list of potential candidates for speaker mentioned last week in a story in The Journal about the political fallout from Mattiello's decision to back Michael Earnheart, an ex-Republican, "MAGA" sign-carrying Trump voter over outspoken incumbent Moira Walsh in last week's Democratic primary.

Mattiello continued to back Earnheart -- and give him a $1,000 personal contribution, another $1,000 out of a PAC he controls and staff support -- even after the state Democratic Party revoked its endorsement of him. Earnheart lost.

Knight told The Journal he is "looking for a speaker candidate who [is] willing to work collaboratively with the others branches of government ... A candidate that listens to and respects the female members of our caucus ... [and also] someone who is interested in some rules reforms to make the make the House of Representatives operate a bit more democratically."

Speaking for Mattiello, Doyle said: "Rep. Knight's opposition doesn't come as a surprise because he is not part of the core group of House members who promote jobs and economy, and we expect a few more progressives to join him."

Knight faces Libertarian candidate Daryl Gould in the November election.

With reports from Journal Staff Writer Patrick Anderson

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