Mattiello wins third term as House speaker; Ruggerio reelected Senate president

Jan. 02--PROVIDENCE -- On the heels of a failed effort by a group of left-leaning fellow Democrats to depose him, House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello won reelection Tuesday as the leader of the Rhode Island House of Representatives on the opening day of the 2019 legislative session.

A Democrat from a conservative House District in Cranston that, two years earlier, went for Donald Trump, Mattiello won his third full two-year term as the House speaker -- and arguably the most powerful politician in the state -- on a 47-to-9 vote over House Minority Leader Blake Filippi of Block Island. There were 19 abstentions.

Across the marble divide, Dominick Ruggerio of North Providence, a state lawmaker since 1981 and former high-ranked administrator in the Laborers International Union of North America, was reelected Senate president on a 36-to-2 vote.

While he didn't face the scale of uprising that Mattielo did, Ruggerio is dealing with his own small dissident faction made up of Pawtucket Democrat Donna Nesselbush and newly elected Providence Democrat Sam Bell. Both objected to roll-call votes -- instead of secret ballot votes -- for Senate leaders, and Nesselbush to the power the president has to kill bills by making sure they never get to a vote.

But the most closely watched action was in the House, where a group of "progressive" Democrats have been at war with "conservative" Democrats -- led by Mattiello -- over a host of issues, ranging from gun control to abortion rights, pay equity and the perceived chokehold the speaker has on legislation.

As the speech-making and voting got underway, chants of -- "Hey, hey, ho, ho. Mattiello has got to go" -- seeped into the House chamber from a protest rally in the rotunda, where about 40 people loudly demanded "reforms" in the top-down way that decisions are made in the House, with hundreds of bills each session stuck forever in the legislative purgatory known as "held for further study."

Filippi's nomination by one of his GOP colleagues gave the 9 Republicans in the House an alternative, but the dissident Democrats were left with no alternative to Mattiello after four-term Rep. John Lombardi, a Providence Democrat, removed his name from contention on Tuesday afternoon.

Lombardi said he "stepped up" because no one else among the Democrats clamoring for rules reforms did so. By Tuesday, however, Lombardi acknowledged he did not have as many commitments as he expected and couldn't cover enough of the ideological spectrum. "All of a sudden I wasn't progressive enough. I wasn't conservative enough," he said.

Asked why the so-called "reformers" in the House did not nominate one of their own for speaker, Rep. Jason Knight, D-Barrington, said abstaining "felt like the best way to get the message across" and not "muddy the waters" by focusing attention on an opposition candidate who couldn't win. Asked why she abstained, Rep. Edith Ajello, D-Providence, said: "I think we need new rules and it was aimed at getting that message across."

Echoed Rep. Susan Donovan, a Bristol Democrat: "We want to see some more transparency and we want to see some rules changes and we are trying to make that point. And yes, there are some proposals." (A rollout is expected in the next day or so.)

In her nominating speech for Mattiello, Rep. Shelby Maldonado, a Central Falls Democrat, law student and communications director for a plumbers and pipe-fitters union, said: Mattiello's door "was always open to me and he has been very receptive to my legislative priorities." She cited, as an example, the passage of legislation to make sure the children of undocumented immigrants still have access to driver's licenses and work permits no matter what Congress ultimately does with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Another female Democratic legislator -- Rep. Camille Vella-Wilkinson of Warwick -- praised Mattiello for taking "principled positions," including his efforts to reduce taxpayer risk on a proposed baseball stadium for the Pawtucket Red Sox. While the team opted for a sweeter deal in Worcester, Vella-Wilkinson said Mattiello "takes positions that reflect the majority sentiments in this room."

In his own speech, Mattiello promised to stay focused on "jobs and the economy," reduce "regulatory burdens," support "programs that ensure our Rhode Islanders are well-trained for the jobs of the future" and continue the car-tax phaseout, despite the cost -- an estimated $92.3 million next year in reimbursements to the cities and towns for the lost revenue.

He also promised a closer look at Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee's reworked bill to extend the time a victim of child sex-abuse can go to court to seek civil damages from the current 7 years in Rhode Island to match Massachusetts' 35-year statute of limitations. (One of the original "Gang of 21" vowing to vote against Mattiello, McEntee voted for his reelection as speaker.)

Mattiello also promised to consider an increase in the minimum wage -- to keep pace with Massachusetts' -- and "take a fresh look at possibly expanding the estate-tax exemption to keep our retirees from moving elsewhere."

And finally, "We must focus more attention on making sure our children receive first-rate public education. The recent Rhode Island test scores were totally unacceptable."

In his tone-setting speech, Ruggerio also emphasized the need to improve Rhode Island's education system and undertake "a meaningful comparison of our education system with the system in Massachusetts."

Evoking a 2018 House-Senate impasse, he said: "We will also continue to work towards equal protections in the workplace. Men and women doing the same work should be paid the same salaries. And no one should be subject to harassment in the workplace ... these bills remain a priority for us."

And finally, he said: "The Senate will also continue to seek enactment into state law of the essential health protections provided through the Affordable Care Act. This legislation is particularly important as the ACA is facing a new challenge in the federal courts."

The 75-member House opened for business with 66 Democrats and 9 Republicans, and the 38-member Senate with 33 Democrats and 5 Republicans.

Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea administered the oath of office to the returning and newly elected lawmakers, including 14 new representatives and seven new senators. In an unusual set of circumstances, Rep. Kenneth Marshall, D-Bristol, has been allowed to return to the chamber without being sworn-in following the resignation of the young, progressive activist -- Laufton Ascencao -- who was elected to succeed him and then bowed out. The special election for that seat is scheduled for March 5.

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