Progressives mount bid for more power in R.I. Democratic Party

March 23-- Mar. 23--PROVIDENCE -- There's a bona fide fight for control of the state Democratic Party brewing this weekend.

Progressive Providence state Rep. Moira Walsh announced Friday she would run for party chair as part of a group of left-leaning challengers to the state party's centrist establishment.

Walsh, who has openly clashed with House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, said she intends to take on the current party chairman, Rep. Joseph McNamara of Warwick, when the State Democratic Committee meets Sunday in Cranston to elect its officers for the next four years.

McNamara has been chairman, with Mattiello's backing, since 2014. Mattiello is often considered the de facto leader of the state party, and McNamara is one of three members of the speaker's House leadership team among the nine officers of the Democratic State Committee.

On the steps of the State House on Friday morning, Walsh said she wants to decentralize control in the state party and end political maneuvers she described as "lawful but awful."

"When the chairman bypasses the committee process and endorses an alt-right former Republican over an incumbent Democratic woman -- lawful, according to the bylaws, but awful." Walsh said. "I am going to be working very hard to make sure our party has another option."

The controversial endorsement Walsh was referring to occurred in her reelection battle last year, when McNamara gave the party nod to Michael Earnheart, a supporter of President Donald Trump, over her. Earnheart also received campaign support from Mattiello.

In addition to running to unseat him, Walsh said she is going to try to ask state committee members Sunday to censure McNamara for an undisclosed violation of the party endorsement bylaws in a race. (She said it was not her own race, but couldn't say more due to confidentiality rules.)

McNamara on Friday said he welcomed the challenge and pointed to the attention now being focused on typically obscure party positions as a sign the party has become more inclusive over the past five years.

"We have taken the party from a place where there were only a few participants in party organizations and have increased our caucuses and involvement in those caucuses," McNamara said. "There are healthy debates and I also insist on stability and decorum ... to give every Democrat the ability to express themselves and participate."

He also touted moving the state party headquarters from downtown Providence, where "meetings lasted 15 minutes because that's how long you could park," to suburban Warwick where there is "unlimited parking."

In addition to electing officers Sunday, the Democratic State Committee is formally adopting its party platform, which was the subject of many meetings and negotiations over the last year.

Walsh was among 19 mostly liberal House Democrats who did not vote for the conservative Mattiello as speaker in January. Several of her fellow "Reform Caucus" members are also expected to challenge the party establishment Sunday.

They include Rep. Lauren Carson of Newport, who is challenging the longtime state party vice chairwoman, Rep. Grace Diaz, of Providence. And Rep. Teresa Tanzi of South Kingstown is challenging Rep. Arthur Corvese of North Providence for secretary.

Although to the right of Walsh and most Reform Caucus members, McNamara leans more liberal than Mattiello and many other establishment Democrats. He voted with Walsh in favor of the abortion-rights bill that passed the House earlier this month.

Walsh said she supports Tanzi, Carson and some of the other challengers for state party posts, but said they were not running as a group.

Do the challengers have a chance?

Walsh said about a dozen committee members have said they will vote for her, although that is a small chunk of the 240 possible committee votes.

Another issue that has bubbled up is McNamara's recent appointment of several committee members to vacant seats in advance of the party meeting.

Walsh said she believed as many 30 vacancies had been filled, "who presumably will vote for him as chair."

McNamara said the number of appointments was closer to 10 than 30 and not naming someone to these seats would have been "disenfranchising" the districts they represent.

One committee member who is not scheduled to attend is Gov. Gina Raimondo, according to her office.

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