In this article, RI Working Families and RI Coalition against gun violence detail wins in last Tuesday's primary. Here is the first of two stories:
RI Working Families Party wins 90% of its primary elections
By
Working Families Party in UpRiseRI
“From criminal justice reform to a $15 minimum wage to housing,
healthcare and education as a human right, the values of Pawtucket voters match
the values of the Working Families Party. Together, RI WFP candidates are
proving that you don’t need corporate donors or establishment lobbyists to win
elections — you need heart, courage, and a bold vision for racial, social and
economic justice for all.”
The Working Families Party is proud to congratulate our
endorsed candidates Sam Bell (SD 5), Meghan Kallman (SD 15), Jeanine Calkin (SD
30), Kendra Anderson (SD 31), Alana
DiMario (SD 36), Brandon Potter (HD
16) Teresa Tanzi (HD 34), Kathy Fogarty (SD
35), Leonela Felix (HD 61) and Michelle
McGaw (HD 71) on their victories in yesterday’s Democratic primary
election.
“Yesterday’s
results made clear what the Working Families Party has known for years: voters
are ready for progressive leaders who will use their personal experience to
fight for working families. Medicare for All,
the Green New Deal, $15 minimum wage and
more aren’t just good policy, they’re now, without a doubt, the common-sense
path to winning office in Rhode Island,” said RI WFP State Director Georgia Hollister Isman.
“It’s
also clear that voters’ desire for progressive policy expands beyond the urban
core and into every corner of Rhode Island,” said Hollister Isman. “Current
conservative leaders from every corner of our state should consider making bold
moves in the coming weeks to protect school funding, expand affordable housing,
and prevent Medicaid cuts. If not, they may come face to face with the WFP wave
in their own districts sooner than they may expect.”
RI WFP-backed progressives made gains in unconventional districts this primary. Leonela Felix is an attorney and progressive policy advocate who beat out 10-year incumbent Raymond Johnston Jr., a retired police officer backed by Right to Life, for the seat. Brandon Potter, whose firsthand experience with Rhode Island’s broken healthcare system inspired him to run for office, ousted incumbent Representative Chris Millea, an NRA-backed establishment Democrat and close ally of the scandal-embroiled House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello.
WFP
staff, volunteers, and activists played a critical role in the string of
progressive primary victories, making over 14,000 calls and sending over
25,000 texts to voters across the state, training candidates and
their teams on the ins and outs of running a successful campaign, and advising
on mail and messaging strategies. The work done by organizations that sit at
WFP’s table, including SEIU and
Planned Parenthood, also played a key role in WFP candidates’ pathway to
victory this cycle.
“The
WFP is a leading voice for working families in Pawtucket and across Rhode
Island, and RI WFP activists showed up in force to help power our victory,”
said Leonela Felix. “From criminal justice reform to a $15
minimum wage to housing, healthcare and education as a human right, the values
of Pawtucket voters match the values of the Working Families Party. Together,
RI WFP candidates are proving that you don’t need corporate donors or
establishment lobbyists to win elections — you need heart, courage, and a bold
vision for racial, social and economic justice for all.”
“The
voters of District 16 have made clear they want change,” said
Brandon Potter. “They want leaders who will stand up for regular
people and fight hard for healthcare reform, education, equal rights, and an
economy that lets working families thrive, not just survive. These are the
issues I’m fighting for, and we have a lot of work to do. I’m ready to roll up
my sleeves and go to work for regular people, and I’m fired up to continue my
work with the WFP as we take this fight to the State House.”
In
the coming months, the RI WFP will work to win more legislative seats for
progressives in Rhode Island in the November election, fight for a just,
anti-austerity budget that invests in recovery for all Rhode Islanders, and
connect Rhode island activists to WFP’s powerful progressive turnout operations
in swing states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin for November’s presidential
election.
Rhode
Island Coalition Against Gun Violence wins big in primary elections
By
Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence
Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence (RICAGV) endorsed candidates that support gun safety legislation prevailed in 19 races in Tuesday’s primary election. Among all candidates, gun violence was an important campaign issue.
Even
in races in which our endorsed candidates did not prevail, primary victors
including Nathan Biah, David Morales, Tiara Mack, and Melinda Lopez support
bills that would ban the sale and use of military-style assault weapons and
high-capacity magazines, and support keeping guns out of our schools. This is
not surprising. As we saw in our March 2020 statewide poll, nearly two thirds
(64.7%) of Rhode Islanders follow the issues of gun safety and gun violence
prevention closely.
As
we saw in 2020, gun safety bills have strong support on Smith Hill.
Representative Justine Caldwell’s H7264 had 42 co-signers, and
Senator Gayle Goldin’s S2130 had 21 co-signers. This
represents a majority in favor of banning high-capacity magazines in both chambers.
This week’s primary victories by Brandon Potter, Leonela Felix, Brianna Henries,
and Michelle McGaw over pro-gun legislators will add even
more strong pro-gun safety voices to the General Assembly in 2021.
Momentum
has been building statewide and across the country for stronger gun laws that
will keep guns out of the hands of those who should not have them, ensure that
weapons are stored safely in order to prevent theft and suicides, and to keep
highly lethal military-style weapons and ammunition out of civilian hands. We
look forward to working with old and new legislators alike in 2021 as we
continue our fight to make Rhode Island the safest state in the United States.
House
District
8 – John Lombardi
District
11 – Grace Diaz *
District
12 – Jose Batista
District
16 – Brandon Potter *
District
18 – Joe McNamara *
District
27 – Patricia Serpa
District
34 – Teresa Tanzi
District
35 – Kathy Fogarty *
District
61 – Leonela Felix
District
64 – Brianna Henries
District
71 – Michelle McGaw *
District
72 – Terri Cortvriend *
District
74 – Deb Ruggiero
Senate
District
1 – Maryellen Goodwin
District
5 -Sam Bell
District
9 – John Burke
District
15 – Meghan Kallman *
District
16 – Jonathan Acosta
District
36 – Alana DiMario *
*These
candidates have a general election opponent
Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence is an organization that was created by concerned citizens of Rhode Island. The organization came to be in 2013 after the Rhode Island General Assembly failed to pass common sense gun legislation. We recognize gun violence as a public health issue. Using common sense means and methods, we seek to reduce injuries and deaths from gun violence. We are dedicated to changing the narrative of common-sense gun safety legislation.
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