Rivals throw digs – many about money – in RI congressional debate. Here's what they said

PROVIDENCE – Sparks flew Thursday night over the torrent of outside money flowing into Rhode Island's off-year congressional race, with more than one candidate on the defense.

The digs and defenses were directed at:

∎ The millions of super-PAC dollars bolstering Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos' campaign.

∎ The $125,000 that former Rep. Aaron Regunberg's father-in-law, James Cielinski, a top money manager at a global investment firm, ostensibly funneled into the pro-Regunberg Progress Rhode Island PAC without Regunberg's knowledge or involvement, as required for "independent," over-the limit campaign expenditures.

∎ The $600,000 of his own money that investor Donald Carlson is spending on his own high-frequency TV campaign.

Ultimately, the money questions came down to integrity

Before the debate was over, the candidates on the stage at Roger Williams University, at a debate sponsored by the Rhode Island Association of Democratic City and Town Chairs, had gotten in their digs, defended their records and in more than one case, their integrity.

Asked by one of the moderators if he is trying to buy his way into a congressional seat in Washington, Carlson said he put his own money into his campaign because, "as an outsider to politics," he needs to "break through to establish a persona" and do so without owing − or being owed − favors.

"That means I am not beholden to anybody when I get there," Carlson said. "The question we should be asking is not necessarily where the money comes from but what you owe in return."

When Regunberg, in turn, was asked what he would say to Rhode Islanders who remain skeptical he had no idea that his mother and father-in-law were funding a super-PAC pouring tens of thousands of dollars into an effort to help his campaign, he acknowledged that he asked for support early on from "literally everyone I know, including my in-laws," but said he had no idea what form that might take.

"You can’t control what your in-laws do," he quipped.

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'I condemn the whole system of outside spending'

Regunberg then pivoted away from the question, saying: "I am very proud that my campaign is not taking a dime from corporate PACs or corporate lobbyists ... There are a number of candidates on this stage who have accepted corporate lobbyist money and corporate PAC money." He did not elaborate.

"Mr. Regunberg, do you ... denounce the super-PAC spending?" asked one of his rivals, Providence Councilman John Goncalves, a schoolteacher.

"I condemn the whole system of outside spending," Regunberg began.

"I am asking you a very specific question," Goncalves interrupted, to which Regunberg said: "Can I finish? I think we need to get money out of politics completely. That's why, as far as I know, I am the only candidate on the stage that has substantively worked for public financing of elections."

Was he willing to ask his family to stop?

"I would gladly join with all the candidates who are receiving super-PAC support ... But I am sure the other candidates on this stage who are receiving outside spending support, in one case to the tune of almost a million dollars, are not going to swear off the super-PACs that are supporting them," said Regunberg said in an apparent reference to Matos.

Bringing campaign support down to a very local scale

"I think we need to acknowledge the hypocrisy here," said political newcomer Stephanie Beaute, as she turned the the question on Goncalves.

She asked the councilman if he would "denounce receiving money from ... a building developer in Fox Point ... [that] your residents have literally rejected?"

Her question contained an apparent reference to the $3,300 that Dustin Dezube, the owner of Providence Realty Advisors, and other personnel at the firm have contributed to his congressional campaign in recent months, according to a GoLocalProv report.

Dezube has been the subject of multiple Providence Journal reports for complaints by tenants about mold, prolonged maintenance issues and code violations. His proposed Wickenden Street development made news this week.

"Will you reimburse their funds as well?" Beaute asked.

"Absolutely," he said.

"I'd like to have somebody spend money on my behalf," said another of the candidates, Rep. Stephen Casey of Woonsocket, drawing one of the few laughs of the night.

A chunk of time went into familiar questions to Matos about the purported signatures of dead people − and other alleged forgeries on her nominating papers. But even Carlson, who formally objected to her papers, said he does not question "the lieutenant governor's personal integrity," only her ability to pull a campaign together "that can do the job right."

"Let's move on from these damn signatures," said Goncalves. "Voters care about the issues."

In her own turn, Matos shot darts at former White House staffer Gabe Amos for "taking a lot of credit" for the work of people for whom he worked, and lobbying for Home Depot between government jobs when the company's owners and political affiliates contributed to former President Trump and state legislators who were listed cosponsors of "Anti-choice, Anti-Voting Rights, and Anti-LGBTQ legislation."

Amos said his role during his five to six months as a Home Depot lobbyist was "to help build stores...[and] jobs."

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A pause: Whom among your rivals would you support?

In one of the most smile-producing segments, the 10 Democrats were each asked which other candidate on the stage they would back if they could not vote for themselves.

Amo chose former Naval War College Prof. Walter Berbrick; Berbrick and Carlson chose Sandra Cano, a Pawtucket state senator; Goncalves asked if he could "write in" a candidate and then said an unnamed "woman of color"; Casey chose Beaute, a program manager in the tech industry; Cano chose fellow senator Ana Quezada of Providence; Casey chose Beaute; Matos said "a woman" but also said she'd want to see a poll on which one has the best chance of winning; Regunberg said he has appreciated "Sen. Quezada's chutzpah and fight"; Beaute chose Berbrick, and Quezada named both Cano and Beaute.

On the issues, the debate covered a lot of ground, from military spending to standardized testing mandates for students to the reduction or elimination of student debt, with some of the candidates carving out differences with their rivals.

On student debt, for example, Carlson − who until recently ran a leadership program at Yale University − again stood out from the crowd on student debt relief.

The cost of conferring benefits

While most of the candidates on the stage back some form of student debt relief, Carlson said: "It's easy to sit here and say we want to throw money at everybody. But the bottom line here is that we are not forgiving or canceling debt ... so it is really important to remember that every dollar we quote-unquote 'forgive' means a dollar less for education ... or a dollar less for affordable housing.

"There are tradeoffs here, and I think it is irresponsible, frankly, to blithely say we should just forgive it all and throw out numbers,'' said Carlson, suggesting Congress target the relief to students heading into professions where there are shortages, such as teaching and nursing. "If you're a lawyer on Wall Street, pay your loan."

Casey echoed the question: who's going to pay for it?

Regunberg said he gets "frustrated with what feels like sometimes the selective weaponization of the question – how are we going to pay for it, because that question never gets asked when we are talking about a tax cut for a big corporation or millionaires or billionaires ... or bailing out big banks."

"It only gets asked when we are talking about how do we help regular people who are struggling," he said.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Sparks fly over torrent of money flowing into RI congressional race