Projo Politics Blog

Governor Carcieri put his best arguments for a more politically balanced General Assembly before Warwick voters last week.

But his coattails were not long enough to help Republican Jonathan Wheeler, a manager at MetLife and administrator at Warwick Municipal Court, beat Democrat Frank Ferri for the Warwick District 22 House seat in Warwick that was vacated in mid-term by Democrat Peter T. Ginaitt.

On Oct. 4, the state GOP sent out a letter in the governor’s name to about 1,500 local Republicans and independents that said, in part : “This is an unexpected opportunity …You know and I know we cannot afford to put another Democrat into the General Assembly. Unfortunately they have shown time and again they do not have the will to stand up to the leadership of the public employee unions whose demands far outweigh what the state can afford.”

“Our devoted and hardworking Republican Representative, Warwick’s own Joseph Trillo, needs more allies at the State House as he stands up to the Democrat power machine.”

(As a point of contrast, Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian also sent out a letter, but his never mentioned the words unions, Democrats or power-mongers once, emphasizing instead Wheeler’s credentials as a “voice of conservatism … [who] will advocate for a wiser investment of our tax dollars so that state programs run more effectively and cost-efficiently.”

According to state GOP spokeswoman Donna Perry, Carcieri made an appearance at an Oct. 10 fundraiser for Wheeler at Timmy’s One Bay Ave, and a rally for him on Nov. 15. As the Nov. 27 special election approached, she said, Carcieri was one of several high-profile Republicans who taped messages for an automated get-out-the-vote telephone campaign, also paid for by the state GOP.

With Republicans currently outnumbered 62 to 12 in the House, his automated phone message said: “Hello, this is Governor Carcieri; I am calling to ask you to join me in supporting Jonathan Wheeler … Rhode Island faces tough challenges right now … I need more members from our party in the General Assembly to help me protect the taxpayers.”

In all, Perry estimated the state GOP spent $4,000 to $5,000 on the campaign. “You have to look at all of them as potentially winnable,” Perry said. In the end, Ferri took 53 percent of the vote, 896 in total. Wheeler was second with 33 percent, and independent Carlo Pisaturo a distant third.

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