Final campaign finance reports for 2013 filed with the Board of Elections

Here’s how Charlestown money and politics shapes up so far

By Will Collette

As much as we like it to be otherwise, money is an essential part of our political process. It costs money to reach voters and while “retail” politics of going door-to-door is critical, so is advertising.

The 2013 election in Charlestown was won by the Charlestown Citizens Alliance through their ability to raise almost $20,000 during the cycle, 60% of it from non-residents. While the Charlestown Democrats raised a respectable $11,000-plus, almost all from Charlestown residents, the CCA’s ability to get rich shoreline property owners to write big checks made the difference.

That’s the way it has been in the past three election cycles, each won by the CCA Party with its out of state backers.

The deadline for filing end-of-year 2013 reports was January 31^st. I have reviewed the filings by candidates and political groups who either represent Charlestown or are based here. I have also provided links to their official filings with the Board of Elections so you can review those reports for yourself.

General Assembly

Donna Walsh and Cathie Rumsey

Charlestown is represented in the Rhode Island General Assembly by three people. Rep. Donna Walsh (D) represents all of Charlestown in the House. Sen. Cathie Cool Rumsey (D) represents Charlestown North of One and Sen. Dennis Algiere (R) represents Charlestown South of One.

At the end of 2013, Sen. Cathie Cool Rumsey carried a cash balance of $1,770.97. During the last quarter of 2013, she raised $400, but spent $4,172.46.

Sen. Dennis Algiere of Westerly spent nothing and raised nothing in the last quarter of 2013. He goes into another election year with cash on hand of $6,294.21. He has not had a serious opponent to his re-election is a very, very long time.

Rep. Donna Walsh is ready to run strong in 2014. She ended 2013 with a cash-on-hand figure of $15,385.47. The final quarter of 2013 was a good one for her where she raised $4,359 and spent $556.56.

Tina Jackson

Her 2012 opponent, Republican Tina Jackson has kept her campaign account open at the RI Board of Elections, presumably so she can run against Donna again. However, she has not bothered to file the required campaign finance reports. She missed the January 31 deadline, making the seventh report in a row she’s missed. The Board of Elections has cited her for violations and is assessing her for fines each and every day she is in arrears. She is now one of the top BOE delinquents owing over $3,000.

Political Parties

Charlestown has the usual Democrats and Republicans, each with an official Town Committee. 

However, Charlestown has been under the control of a third party called the Charlestown Citizens Alliance since 2008. While the CCA Party is not officially tied to any mainstream political party, it nonetheless acts like one in its domination of Charlestown politics.

So what is the CCA Party? It started out as a PAC set up to try to recall then Town Council President Jim Mageau. 

However, the CCA Party was actually an outgrowth of the Rhode Island Shoreline Coalition which was headquartered in Charlestown and led by wealthy shoreline property owners. The Shoreline Coalition morphed into the RI Statewide Coalition (RISC), moved out of Charlestown and changed its name to Rhode Island Taxpayers after a de facto merger with the now moribund Moderate Party and the RI Tea Party.

The bond - genetic and practical - between the CCA Party and RISC is still very real. The CCA Party still holds to the core “values” on which RISC was founded: 

• Protecting non-resident shoreline property owners, 
• Animosity toward the Narragansett Indian Tribe, 
• Disdain for working families and 
• A desire to wall off the town for the benefit of the landed gentry. 

The dominant ingredient in the CCA Party recipe is RISC.

Other ingredients in the CCA Party’s recipe: add a heaping cupful of Tea Party, another cupful of the now nearly defunct Moderate Party, a teaspoonful of the Nature Conservancy and some crazy NIMBYism for spice. There, more or less, is the CCA Party.

Its political base is comprised mainly of elderly, well-to-do retirees living in Charlestown’s third precinct (East Beach-West Beach-Quonnie) with pockets of support in neighborhoods that have given and received political favors (e.g. Sachem Passage, Sonquipaug).

In its end-of-the-year BOE filing, the CCA Party reported nothing. They left the reporting form blank except for listing a beginning and ending cash balance of $2,992.36. It is signed by CCA Party Treasurer Leo Mainelli.

It’s not unusual for the CCA Party to go long periods without raising a nickel. They usually call in their marker with their fat cat supporters in the final quarter before an election.

Charlestown Republicans haven’t shown much activity in their BOE reports for quite a while. They reported a 2013 ending balance of $475.17, having raised nothing and spent nothing in the final quarter.

The Charlestown Democratic Town Committee did raise much money for itself in the last quarter of 2013 – only $160, with expenditures of $154.24. Most of its end of year fund-raising was devoted to the Christmas gift drive for children in the custody of the state Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF). However, they did report ending 2013 with a cash balance of $5,517.54.

The CDTC welcomes support from Charlestown residents who would like Charlestown to be more Democratic. Click here to find out how to give.