Friday, October 25, 2013

CDTC continues to meet and consider potential nominees for state office

Nellie Gorbea and Guillaume deRamel ask for the Committee’s endorsement in their campaigns for Secretary of State
Ms. Gorbea (right), by the luck of the draw, spoke first

On October 21, the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee continued to meet with candidates vying to run as Democrats for state office. 

The CDTC completed its meetings with candidates for Secretary of State by meeting with Nellie Gorbea and Guillaume deRamel, the two remaining declared Democratic candidates after Ed Pacheco’s withdrawal from the race.

Mr. deRamel spoke second
Even though the election is more than a year away, there are many other potential candidates, such as Providence Mayor Angel Tavares, General Treasurer Gina Raimondo, and Clay Pell, grandson of the late Senator Claiborne Pell, who are likely to declare their candidacies for various offices before the end of the year.

It’s almost certain that there will be Democratic contenders in the Party’s primary for every statewide office, except perhaps for Attorney General Peter Kilmartin’s seat. 

Lieutenant Governor Liz Roberts and Secretary of State Ralph Mollis are term-limited. Governor Lincoln Chafee has announced he will not run for re-election. General Treasurer Gina Raimondo is expected to run for Governor.

This means a rare occurrence in 2014 when the election guarantees a nearly complete turn-over in the composition of the state’s Executive branch of government.

The Secretary of State’s position presents the CDTC with the challenge of evaluating two outstanding people seeking its endorsement. Either would be an excellent Secretary of State based on their past experience and clear thinking about the role of the office.

CDTC chair Cathy Collette told them that the committee will discuss which candidate should get their endorsement now that they’ve met with both Democratic candidates. The CDTC will probably make a decision on this race before the end of December, well ahead of the official campaign season.

Over the coming months, the CDTC plans to meet with Democrats who have declared their candidacy for the other state general officers’ positions. The CDTC meets every third Monday of the month and its meetings are open to all registered Democrats in Charlestown.