Rhode Island Voter Coalition

UPDATE: Meet the Candidates Forum January 8, 2010

The upcoming January 8th “Meet the Candidates” forum being organized by our group, the Rhode Island Voter Coalition, at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick, has apparently raised hackles among some of the professional politicians in our state.  William Lynch, the chairman of the state Democratic Party recommended (instructed) Attorney General Patrick Lynch and Treasurer Frank Caprio to rescind their acceptances to participate in our event.  At the same time, he referred to our effort as “an orchestrated event designed to benefit another potential candidate.” As this is the third forum we have organized (the first two being October 16th in Coventry and November 19th in Westerly), we were initially surprised at the sudden suspicion of our motives.  We believed that our previous events (video of which are available via links on our website) clearly show us to be a fair and non-partisan group.
 
Because these questions have been raised, we naturally would like to set the record straight.
 
We, like many people in our state and around our nation, felt disconnected from the workings of government and felt that the professional politicians were not interested in the opinions of average citizens.  Earlier this year we did what many people did: we attended rallies and town hall meetings and we wrote letters and made phone calls.  We came to realize that a more sustained effort would be needed to reconnect people with the workings of government, and that, rather than take a cynical approach, we decided to become actively engaged in the process of selecting our leaders.
 
We decided that the best way to be engaged was to bring voters directly into the process by giving them opportunities to respectfully ask questions of the candidates personally.  It is obvious to us that the usual debate format with professional media questioning professional politicians no longer serves the interests of the voters.  That is why we formed the Rhode Island Voter Coalition.
 
It is unfortunate (to say the least) when the media injects itself into a news story, but the Journal did just that when Katherine Gregg’s piece inaccurately portrayed the role of the Forum moderator as the person who “posed” the questions to the candidates.  However, the forum’s written format and rules, which were provided to each invitee and to Ms. Gregg, clearly stated that the moderator enforces time limits, recognizes audience members for questions and may randomly select from written questions by audience participants.  He does not ask his own questions.   Our moderator is a respected Rhode Island attorney who was chosen from among our group because he has extensive experience in conducting meetings.  The moderator is, by our definition, a neutral “referee” and has no influence on the matters discussed other than to allow a follow-up question when appropriate.  Ms. Gregg’s reference to his service as chairman of the Reform Party presidential campaign in Rhode Island a decade ago is irrelevant to his role as moderator of this forum.
 
We readily acknowledge our error in promoting Representative Daniel Itse from New Hampshire as a “special” guest for the event, without identifying him by name.  While it was a mistake, it was not an attempt by us to ambush or embarrass anyone.  It created a misunderstanding that could have easily been cleared up with a phone call.  We also believe that Ms. Gregg’s reporting that Giovanni Cicione, Chairman on the RIGOP thought the “special guest” was Mr. Laffey furthered the misunderstanding.  And, for the record, the Rhode Island Voter Coalition believes that it is not appropriate for a potential candidate to be present at a forum as an observer, as an aide to former Senator Lincoln Chafee suggested he might do.  Indeed, we believe it would not reflect well on any candidate who appeared at a forum and refused to take questions.
 
Although we are certainly disappointed that Mr. Caprio and Mr. Lynch bowed to pressure from the state Democratic Party chair, we intend to go forward on January 8th as announced, with or without their participation.  There are plenty of candidates who would welcome the opportunity to engage their fellow citizens directly on many important issues facing Rhode Island.  We will be conducting more of these forums in 2010, once a month if possible, and we will invite all candidates for Governor, including Mr. Caprio and Mr. Lynch, and candidates for other statewide and local offices who are seeking to serve the citizens of Rhode Island.
 
The Rhode Island Voter Coalition hopes that, rather than obey the instructions of professional party bosses, all candidates from every party should demonstrate their respect for the voters by meeting them face-to-face.  This year more than ever, the focus should be on us – the voters.