Matos, Regunberg play defense in Bartholomewtown podcast's special election debate

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island's Democratic congressional rivals openly traded charges of incompetence and hypocrisy for the first time Thursday in a podcast debate that introduced an edge to the previously polite 1st Congressional District special election campaign.

Eight of the dozen Democrats vying to succeed David Cicilline in Washington argued over two controversies shadowing the campaign's perceived frontrunners – an investigation into Sabina Matos' nomination signatures and objections to Aaron Regunberg's support by a family-funded Super PAC – during the debate on the Bartholomewtown podcast

Regunberg fends off attacks over Super PAC

Matos, the sitting lieutenant governor, has been under scrutiny for suspected fraudulent signatures collected by a campaign contractor for a month, although rival candidates have mostly refrained from attacking her directly on it.

Questions over the pro-Regunberg Progress Rhode Island PAC are more recent, and on Thursday multiple candidates asked the former state lawmaker, who is running on a populist, anti-corporate message, to denounce the outside spending. Progress Rhode Island's primary donor is Regunberg's father-in-law, a top money manager at a global investment firm.

More on the Super PAC: Congressional rivals attack Regunberg as 'privileged rich kid' supported by Super PAC

"Let's be very clear. You're talking about a business that I have nothing to do with that has approximately 0.07% of its funds in some way related to fossil-fuel companies," Regunberg said in response to questions about whether the Super PAC money contradicts his values, "that has paid a salary to my father-in-law – who has taken some amount of his personal money to support this campaign – that we were not aware of."

That explanation didn't satisfy several candidates.

Stephanie Beaute accused Regunberg of "hypocrisy" for pledging not to take PAC money before he "then changed his mind."

Technically Progress Rhode Island operates independently from the Regunberg campaign (which said it didn't know what the PAC was doing,) but state Sen. Sandra Cano argued that Regunberg could still ask for the outside money group to stop.

"I think that the main difference between the two candidates that have some type of scandals is that one of them has called [out] when their values have been wronged," Cano said. "I think that Lt. Gov. Matos has said, 'I don't think this was good and appropriate.' But my other colleague hasn't called out that it was wrong. And I think we need to be truthful with ourselves."

When he entered the race, Regunberg called on all candidates to refuse money from corporate PACs, lobbyists and fossil fuel companies. On Thursday he said that he would "gladly join with the other candidates on this stage who have Super PACs working on their behalf to say we want an end to all Super PACS."

More: New front in RI progressive political feud opens as group attacks Regunberg. Here's what they're saying.

"It has already been spent. So do you denounce the spending on your behalf?" candidate John Goncalves asked.

"Again, I would gladly call for an end to all Super PACS," Regunberg said.

Goncalves: "Do you denounce the spending on your behalf? That's the question."

Regunberg: "Why is that the question? There is Super PAC spending across the board in this race."

"I can assure you our campaign does not take any Super PAC money," Goncalves said. "This ultimately comes down to privilege and money. We are hearing a lot of great pivots and talking points."

State Sen. Ana Quezada pointed out that she has fewer big donors than almost anyone in the race, with the exception of Beaute.

Gabe Amo said the fact that all the candidates are being asked about the signature and PAC controversies on the campaign trail and in interviews is unfortunate and taking away from policy issues.

Matos doesn't escape the debate unscathed

While several rivals went after Regunberg, only Donald Carlson directly criticized Matos for the nomination-signature fiasco that is currently the subject of a state police investigation and Board of Elections review.

"So this is just playing into the hands of the hands of the MAGA Republican talking points ... that people don't believe and don't have trust in our democracy," Matos said about the signature probe. "And as fellow Democrats, we shouldn't be playing into their hands."

"So you believe you're the victim under this scenario?" Carlson asked Matos.

"We've already proven that my campaign was deceived. Someone lied to me and to my campaign," Matos responded.

Carlson: "Someone you hired."

A few minutes later, Matos turned back to Carlson and pointed out that local elections boards had rejected 210 of his campaign's signatures.

"Do you know the reason why?" she asked. (By comparison, more than 500 of hers were thrown out.)

"I do. In every case," he said. "My campaign manager went through every single signature and validated against the voter file to just make sure that we had enough to put in. But none of them were disqualified because they were forged."

Asked if he should apologize to Matos for raising the issue, Carlson said he had nothing to be sorry for.

"I have not questioned the lieutenant governor's integrity in any way," Carlson said. "This is a question of competence."

When the conversation swung back to signatures after several minutes of Super PAC debate, Matos merged the two issues while taking aim at Carlson, whose campaign is largely self funded.

"We are talking a lot about signatures," Matos said. "What about the signatures that sign the checks that went into the PAC to help you? Mr. Carlson, what about the signatures you signed to yourself to put money into this campaign?"

"I earned every nickel of that," Carlson said. "That's money that I earned from growing up in Providence in a two-family tenement house on Seventh Street and I made my way in the world. I am not embarrassed with that."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: CD1 special election debate: Matos, Regunberg fend off attacks