Howard Dean huddles with local Democrats
9:17 AM Mon, May 12, 2008 | Permalink
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It was a tale of two Democratic parties Thursday night. At Providence Prime restaurant, on Federal Hill, a group of party elite fundraisers and elected officials met for a private dinner with Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean. Huddling with Dean were Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts, Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, state General Treasurer Frank Caprio, fundraising activist Susan Weiner, former Providence Mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr., state AFL-CIO president Frank Montanaro, AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer George Nee, Edna O’Neill Mattson, the party’s national committeewoman, business leader Alan Hassenfeld and Richard Licht, the former lieutenant governor. Dean, a former Vermont governor, exchanged greetings with old Rhode Island friends and then quickly retreated to the private dinner in the back of Prime, the restaurant favored by Bill Clinton when he is in town. The group was brought together by Mark Weiner, Clinton confidant and top party fundraiser. Dean was in town prospecting for campaign money for the fall campaign against Republicans. The Federal Hill confab was a somewhat buttoned-down affair; across town, a comparatively raucous Democratic event was in full swing: a fundraiser for Rep. David Segal, D-Providence, who represents the Fox Point neighborhood, a slice of the city’s downtown and East Providence. Segal’s time, held at Nick-a-Nees, the celebrated tavern in the city’s Jewelry District, drew hundreds of young Democrats. Nick-a-Nees is a studiously casual joint, known for its jukebox (Dylan, Sinatra, blues), dog-friendly atmosphere, Red Sox fans and bartenders who are on a first-name basis with all the regulars. Think Cheers with grit. Shirts and ties were in the minority, but there were a few lobbyists and labor union types, including Bob Walsh, executive director of the National Education Association of Rhode Island, the teachers union; Bob Mauro, of Local 401 of the Service Employees International Union; Jim Cenerini, of the state AFL-CIO; and Lucie Burdick, president of the Rhode Island Alliance of Social Workers. Lobbyist Wally Gernt was also spied at the bar. Providence Mayor Cicilline was the only politician to make the trip from the Dean event to Segal’s. Two bands entertained: the brassy What Cheer Marching Brigade, and Trolley, an ensemble of Brown University students. Hundreds spilled into the Nick-a-Nee’s parking lot to listen to What Cheer and mingle on a rainless evening. Many State House Democrats showed up, but House Speaker William J. Murphy, D-West Warwick, and Majority Leader Gordon D. Fox, D-Providence, were conspicuous by their absence. A handful of Republicans, however, were in attendance, including House Minority Leader Watson and Rep. Nicholas Gorman, R-Foster (Wesconnaug?). “If we could get this many people to come to our fundraisers, we’d control the House,” quipped Gorham. Accompanying Watson and Gorham was Donna Perry, communications director for the state GOP and sister of right-wing talk-show host John DiPietro. Perry wanted it known that she was there only as a friend of Watson, and that her presence should not connote “any support for Representative Segal” or the Democratic Party. Perry said she happened to be in the neighborhood, attending a function for her brother. At the bar, Walsh, the teachers union leader and nemesis of Governor Carcieri, offered to run as a Republican candidate for state representative against Watson. “Donna, I think I can help in your campaign to recruit candidates for the House,” Walsh said. “Let me think about that one,” joked Perry. Perhaps the most unusual thing about Segal’s fundraisers is that payment is optional. There were no name tags, comp tickets, or enforcers at the door keeping out the press or people who didn’t pay. “People can pay what they want, $25, $75, $100 or nothing,” Segal said. “You can see by this-sized crowd that David does a great job bringing people together for his district,” said Rep. Ray Sullivan, D-Coventry. And speaking of election season, State House lobbyist Allan W. Fung has announced a Republican run for Cranston mayor. Again. Tomorrow evening, the former Cranston councilman and ally of onetime Mayor Stephen P. Laffey is expected to formally announce his second campaign against Democratic Mayor Michael T. Napolitano, the state’s Republican Party tells Political Scene. Napolitano narrowly defeated Fung, a lobbyist for MetLife Home and Auto Insurance, for mayor in the 2006 election. 
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