Tidewater-gate? Democratic candidates for governor debate the $60M stadium deal on WPRO

EAST PROVIDENCE — The zingers flew – and along with them an allegation that the $60-million public-financing deal for the proposed Pawtucket soccer stadium reeks of corruption – during a one-hour debate between the Democratic candidates for governor on Monday morning.

There was no question that Gov. Dan McKee was in the hot seat during much of the one-hour pre-taped debate, moderated by Bill Bartholomew, that aired on WPRO-radio.

The debate pitting McKee, the incumbent, against Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, former Secretary of State Matt Brown, former CVS executive Helena Foulkes and health care activist Luis Daniel Munoz covered a lot of ground.

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Matt Brown labels Pawtucket soccer stadium 'Tidewater-gate'

But Brown – who is polling in the single-digits – leveled the hardest hits in response to a question about the proposed "Tidewater" stadium proposal in Pawtucket, which he labeled "Tidewater-gate."

"This is a case of corruption unfolding in our state as we speak," Brown alleged.

McKee pushed back hard, as he did for most of the hour, accusing his critics of ignoring the post-pandemic turnaround the state has seen in his 18 months as governor, and more specifically, the opportunity the Pawtucket stadium provides to create jobs and economic opportunity.

Here's the way it went:

"Governor McKee, you need to immediately release all of the documents to the public about this deal which at this point should be called Tidewater-gate, unredacted."

Brown cited the "deciding vote" that McKee cast as chairman of the state's Commerce Corporation to give $60 million in state and local subsidies to the developer.

He cited the $7,900 in campaign donations and fundraising help McKee has received during this election cycle from the principals and lobbyists for the development company proposing the stadium: Fortuitous Partners, including the lead partner, Brett Johnson.

He also cited WPRI and WJAR reports that indicate that the "deal is going to lose the state tens of millions of dollars. According to a member of the Commerce Corporation, they were asked to keep documents about the deal secret."

And now, said Brown, the McKee administration is "covering up the truth about how bad this deal is for Rhode Islanders" by redacting whole swaths of potentially critical information from documents given The Journal and other news outlets late last week.

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Helena Foulkes: 'Show us all the information'

In her turn, Foulkes – whose brother was one of the Commerce board members who voted no – said: "Governor, you are not being really transparent with us. Please just show us all the information and be honest with us.

"The deal 18 months ago was a good deal. What happened? Costs went up 50%. It's happening nationwide. We all do what we do when prices go up. We say: let's look at the whole project again. How do we re-imagine the project so we can take care of the whole thing?"

Nellie Gorbea: 'You've got it backwards'

Gorbea: "And what's really going to make a difference in Pawtucket is not a soccer stadium, but investing in schools, investing in housing. You've got it backwards. We can't be continuing to fund single-purpose developers."

Luis Daniel Munoz compares importance to affordable housing

Added Munoz: "We've decided that a soccer stadium is more important than affordable housing."

Gov. Dan McKee: Focus should be on the big picture

In his turn, McKee said the focus should be on the big picture: how much better Rhode Island is doing post-pandemic than other states in the Northeast, the record-low unemployment rate and the myriad tax cuts included in the new state budget.

"We're investing $40 million in the fisheries in Galilee ... well over $60 million in Quonset, to make sure that [that] port is up to speed ... [and significantly] in the offshore wind industry."

"Tidewater is just another example of an investment in our state. It's no different than what we are doing in Galilee, or in Quonset ... "

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"It is a plan that is going to put people to work," McKee said, rejecting "this notion that [we] are not going to complete the project. I actually know how to do these things. Show me one example of a project that I had started that didn't get completed properly."

"And by the way, I am not going to be a governor who is going to walk away from the city of Pawtucket like others have...."

Brown: "But Governor McKee, did you read the report before you cast the deciding vote for Tidewater that concludes the deal is going to lose tens of millions of dollars for the state?"

In response, McKee said the deal was effectively approved before he succeeded Gina Raimondo – the current U.S. commerce secretary – as governor. "It's a good project. We are going to keep that going and the project is going to get completed.

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"We're going to build 500 homes on the other side of the river. We are going to have a walkway across the river, just like it was originally designed."

To those pushing back, "Evidently they don't have the skill and talent that I have to actually get the project done."

At other moments in the debate, it was Gorbea v. Foulkes, with Brown asking why voters should take either woman at their word when they commit to protecting abortion-rights.

He cited Foulkes' now famous $500 contribution in 2014 to U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell "who more than any other person in this country got us the right wing Supreme Court we have that just overturned Roe v. Wade," and Gorbea's door-to-door campaigning and $450 in contributions to the state's then-anti-choice House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello.

"Abortion rights isn't about lip services during campaign seasons," Brown said.

Foulkes' response: "Look, I've said something most politicians don't say, which is: I made a mistake and I am sorry ... I did this because I was working in a way that most people understand. You've got to work across the aisle ... [to get] big things done."

Gorbea said she has "actually been working on this for 30 years," going to rallies, testifying. And "I am the only candidate around this table who has been endorsed by Emily's List, which is a national organization that supports pro-choice Democratic  women."

As for her campaign efforts on behalf of Mattiello, she said, the then-Speaker was in a battle against a Republican who was anti-choice.

Foulkes, in her own turn, needled Gorbea for what she has called the proposed "Nellie tax" on corporations. Gorbea said she only intended to raise corporate taxes on big corporations, not small businesses.

In his closing statement, McKee said the biggest difference "between myself and the other candidates is I am governor. And I have been governor, and I have acted in the best interest of the people in the state of Rhode Island, and we are getting results that we need."

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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI Democratic candidates for governor heated debate 'Tidewater-gate' on WPRO