The Rhode Island Board of Elections will consider a complaint from Senate District 8 independent candidate Cathyann Baker Palocsik, who is objecting to Democratic state officials’ substitution of Lori Urso as their nominee for the November ballot. (Photo courtesy of cathy4ri.com)
The independent candidate vying to represent Pawtucket’s Senate District 8 is contesting the process by which Democrat Lori Urso was tapped to run as the party nominee, filling the spot left open after State Sen. Sandra Cano resigned.
In a complaint filed with the Rhode Island Board of Elections Monday, Cathyann Palocsik contended Urso’s nomination was flawed and should be rejected — a request which, if approved, would leave Palocsik as the only candidate in the race.
Palocsik is among the critics, including Democrats, who took issue with the closed process in which Urso was picked to take Cano’s spot on the November ballot.
R.I. Democratic Committee names Lori Urso to fill Pawtucket Sen. Sandro Cano’s spot on ballot
Cano, first elected in 2018, announced late Thursday — two days after the primary — that she was stepping down from her seat in the Senate and ending her reelection bid, citing an unspecified job opportunity. Less than 24 hours later, Rhode Island State Democratic Party Chair Liz Beretta-Perik named Urso as the party’s chosen replacement, following votes held by the Senate District 8 Committee and the state party’s executive committee.
Palocsik, who ran against Cano as a Republican in 2022, losing by more than 30-percentage points, blasted the party’s “attempted coronation” in a statement Monday.
“The upcoming hearing at the Board of Elections will reveal how the attempted coronation of a new candidate by the State Democrat party leaders has failed,” Palocsik said. “I am running to represent the interests of the great people of Pawtucket; not the special interests, insiders and party bosses.”
‘Fatal’ error in process
The legal complaint, filed by her lawyer, former House Minority Whip Nicholas Gorham, points to more specific problems with the process: namely, which group gets to choose a replacement nominee. The complaint refers to a clause in state election law which authorizes either “the state committee of that party or a duly authorized subcommittee” or “the appropriate city, town, ward, or district committee or any duly authorized subcommittee of them” to appoint a nominee if a candidate drops out within three days after the primary.
Gorham insists that in the case of a state Senate race, the deciding body should have been the Senate district committee.
“It’s pretty clear to me,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “I read it about 100 times, and it’s clear that the district committee has exclusive jurisdiction in circumstances to nominate someone to run in the House or Senate district that committee serves.”
According to Palocsik’s complaint, “this error is fatal to Lori Urso’s ‘nomination.’”
But Beretta-Perik contends differently, insisting she was advised by Rob Rock, deputy secretary of state, that the appointment power lay with her as state party chair. Faith Chybowski, a spokesperson for the Rhode Island Department of State, confirmed this interpretation of the law in an email Tuesday.
“The R.I. Department of State maintains that State Senators and Representatives are state officers as defined in Rhode Island General Law 17-1-2, and as such, pursuant to Rhode Island General Law 17-15-38, a new party nominee is selected by the state committee,” Chybowski wrote.
Even if it was, in fact, the district committee that was supposed to appoint a candidate, Beretta-Perik said the complaint still had no merit. Urso was unanimously endorsed by the five-member Senate District 8 Democratic Committee prior to Beretta-Perik’s nomination, proof of which was documented in the paperwork submitted to the state.
“We have a letter from the district committee,” she said. “If, in fact, that is what the BOE wants, as far as I am concerned we have followed the procedure.”
Gorham’s response: “Then the state party shouldn’t have been the one to send it.”
The complaint asks for a hearing before the state elections panel to determine whether Urso can remain on the ballot, though Gorham says he believes she has already been disqualified.
The Rhode Island Board of Elections will consider the request at its meeting Wednesday.
Past attempts to challenge candidates appointed by party officials after a primary have been tossed by the state elections board. However, those challenges, in the 2014 gubernatorial race and 2010 lieutenant governor’s race, did not pertain to legislative races.
“I don’t think this has ever come up in this context,” said Gorham.
Gorham served 10 years in the Rhode Island House of Representatives as a Republican representing parts of Foster, Glocester, and Coventry. He declined to say when he was hired by Palocsik, citing attorney-client privilege.
We have a letter from the district committee. If, in fact, that is what the BOE wants, as far as I am concerned we have followed the procedure.
– Rhode Island State Democratic Party Chair Liz Beretta-Perik
State and local Democrats, including legislators representing Pawtucket, have expressed frustration with the nomination process, which removed the choice from voters and would-be candidates. Beretta-Perik acknowledged the “highly unusual” circumstances.
“I understand why people are upset,” she said. “Obviously, life changes and things happen.”
But voters’ initial discomfort does not mean the nomination process was ilillegal, Beretta-Perik said.
Beretta-Perik praised Urso, who she met for the first time via a Zoom interview Friday, for her professional experience and community involvement. Urso has worked since 2014 as president and CEO of the Old Slater Mill Association and Slater Industrial Archives, and formerly served as deputy chief of staff to Cano’s fiance, General Treasurer James Diossa. She also served one term on the Westerly Town Council, from 2000 to 2002, and managed Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien’s primary reelection campaign.
“We were all very impressed by her,” Beretta-Perik said. “She did an outstanding job in presenting to us and answering questions.”
And as Urso pointed out, the party nomination does not guarantee Urso a seat in the state legislature.
“What I was given was the opportunity to campaign for office and run for office,” Urso said in an interview Tuesday. “I will do that vigorously and wholeheartedly.”
The state elections panel meets at 2 p.m. Wednesday at its offices in Cranston. The meeting will also be streamed on its YouTube page.
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