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| Frank Caprio (DINO) with his arm around his now disgraced brother and The Judge |
The last time there was a Democrat in the governor’s office and
a party chairperson vacancy, it was the Bruce Sundlun – not the Speaker of the
House – who recommended a replacement to the state committee.
“Sundlun took the lead and went to great lengths to cultivate
consensus, which he did rather quickly,” said David Preston, a Sundlun
confidant who worked for the former governor and was executive director of the
Democratic Party at the time.
It was 1991 and Mark Weiner was appointed as the
new chairman of the state Democratic Party.
This time, though, Governor Linc Chafee, who won office as an
independent and then became a Democrat, said he would cede the responsibility
to more senior members of the party.
Jonathan Boucher, current executive director for the party, said
the chair is elected by the majority vote of the state committee. There are 243
members. "A candidate for chair has to get nominated and obtain a
majority vote of those present,” he said. “At this time Grace Diaz will be the
acting chair and will continue in that role until a meeting is called to elect
a new chair, or the current term expires.”
The Speaker of the House is said to have much influence over who
becomes chairperson of the party.
The Young Democrats of Rhode Island, who can be said to
represent the more progressive wing of the Rhode Island Democratic caucus, said
the next chairperson should reflect “both the best interests of Rhode Island
and the principles of the national Democratic Party.”
“That includes,” the group said in an email, “firm commitments
to reproductive justice, gun safety reforms, repealing voter ID, and making
government more accessible and transparent.”
Bob Plain is the
editor/publisher of Rhode Island's Future. Previously, he's worked as a
reporter for several different news organizations both in Rhode Island and
across the country.
