On Sept. 30 the two-time Democratic congressional candidate forgave $436,404 worth of personal loans he made to his 2010 and 2012 campaigns, according to a Federal Election Commission form filed late Monday night, effectively acknowledging he’d never get the money back.

Prior to Monday’s filing, records showed Gemma owed himself a total of $491,132 for loans he made to his two campaigns. He used his leftover campaign cash to repay himself the other $54,727 and forgave the rest.

The filing shows Gemma spent $410,830 on this year’s primary race before losing by 32 points. He reported spending $10,000 with the detective firm TRP Associates, which investigated his claims of voter fraud, and $1,050 with former R.I. Attorney General James O’Neil, who represented Gemma.

• Related: Anthony Gemma discloses more than $3M in personal wealth (Aug. 15)

Spokesmen for the campaigns of Congressman David Cicilline and his rival Anthony Gemma both confirmed over the weekend that the candidates will be staying in Rhode Island this week rather than attend the Democratic National Convention in North Carolina.

Cicilline spokeswoman Nicole Kayner said Tuesday the congressman, who’d been hoping to attend, is “staying here.” Gemma’s new spokesman James Maloney said the challenger “will be focusing on his final two primary debates, meeting with voters, and attending prearranged campaign events” instead of going to the convention.

Both men remain strong supporters of President Obama. Asked to give Obama a letter grade during last week’s WPRI 12 debate, Cicilline gave him an “A” and Gemma offered an “A-.”

• Related: Doherty opens up RI-1 cash advantage; Cicilline spends $491K (Aug. 30)

Campaign finance reports filed Thursday night show Republican Brendan Doherty has taken the lead in the campaign cash race for the first time this cycle.

Doherty’s campaign had $609,380 on hand as of Aug. 22, while Democratic Congressman David Cicilline had $483,454, Federal Election Commission filings show. Anthony Gemma, Cicilline’s opponent in the Sept. 11 Democratic primary, had $24,991.

All three campaigns spent heavily between July 1 and Aug. 22, particularly Cicilline’s, the reports show. The Democrat shelled out $491,574 over the past month and a half, bringing his total campaign spending this cycle to $1.3 million.

Gemma spent $202,070 over the same period, while Doherty – who doesn’t face a primary – spent $171,866. However, Cicilline also continued to stockpile more money than his rivals, bringing in $142,225 during the period against Doherty’s $111,059 and Gemma’s $62,719.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg donated $2,500 to Cicilline on July 23, the filings show. The two men served together for eight years as Northeastern city mayors. Retired CVS Caremark CEO Thomas Ryan contributed another $2,000 to Doherty this month, bringing the Republican’s total donations from Ryan to $4,500.

A separate filing by Gemma showed he loaned his campaign another $150,000 last Friday, giving him a new infusion of cash. Gemma said his campaign’s debts stood at $341,132 prior to the new loan.

Update: Entire 90-minute debate is here in three parts, and the Web-only final half-hour of the debate is here.

• Related: Analysis: Gemma misses target in raucous debate with Cicilline (Aug. 28)

Over the course of WPRI 12′s raucous 90-minute debate on Tuesday night, Gemma couldn’t point to a single one of the 1,697 votes Cicilline has cast in Congress where he would have voted the other way – going so far as to tell voters the two Democrats are “very similar” and would vote the same way on nearly every aspect of federal policy.

Gemma later came up with two policies on which he disagrees with Cicilline, neither of which is likely to win him many votes – he wants to end Saturday mail delivery and eliminate the Bush tax cuts for households who earn between $100,000 and $250,000. That allowed Cicilline to pledge fealty to just about every Democratic position under the sun.

It was that kind of night for Gemma, who repeatedly stumbled when the discussion veered away from questions about Cicilline’s honesty and integrity. And even then, he failed to press his advantage on what WPRI 12 pollster Joe Fleming says is Cicilline’s Achilles heel – his misleading comments about Providence’s finances in 2010.

Instead, Gemma has bet his entire campaign – and a six-figure chunk of his own wealth – on convincing 1st Congressional District voters that Cicilline, a familiar face on the local scene for at least a decade, is personally committing voter fraud by, among other things, paying campaign workers under the table.

While Gemma’s $40,000 private investigation has turned up oddities in Providence’s voting records, it hasn’t provided a smoking gun that directly implicates Cicilline and validates the two-time candidate’s astonishing accusations. Now Gemma has just two weeks to overcome a 12-point deficit with an electorate that already picked Cicilline once.

Gemma’s strategy is all the more strange because Cicilline remains surprisingly exposed on the Providence question – something Brendan Doherty’s campaign must be heartened to see. Pressed by The Providence Journal’s Ed Achorn on what adjective he’d use instead of “excellent” to describe the city’s finances in 2010, Cicilline dodged, weaved – and never answered. The same thing happened on grading Governor Chafee.

This campaign is very personal, and the tension between the two candidates was palpable. (The AP’s David Klepper reports they didn’t shake hands before or after.) The wall of sound hitting the two candidates on stage – cheers, boos, catcalls, heckles – made it hard to hear each other and the questions, let alone stay focused. Cicilline made slightly more of an effort to be cordial – asked to say something nice about the other candidate, Cicilline praised Gemma’s breast cancer fundraising; Gemma smirked and complimented Cicilline’s tie.

Cicilline was, as ever, quick on his feet and knowledgeable on policy minutiae, jumping on a fairly arcane question about Fannie and Freddie’s chief regulator while working to deflect those he didn’t want to answer. His relentless hammering of Democratic talking points (“millionaires and billionaires!” “Big Oil!”) probably plays well with primary voters – it’s unclear if it will be as effective with the less partisan general electorate.

Toward the end of the debate, Gemma brought up a genuinely interesting and unexpected proposal that was unfortunately drowned out by Cicilline supporters’ heckles, suggesting homeowners who get behind on their mortgages should be given the right to rent their homes for a few years and then buy them back once their finances stabilize. Cicilline mocked him, which was unfair – the leading liberal economist Dean Baker, for example, agrees with Gemma.

But that was a rare moment of policy clarity for Gemma, who is focused like a laser beam on his lonely crusade to pin Cicilline for voter fraud. Joe Fleming said after the debate he didn’t think the spectacle would win Gemma significant new support, which is what he needed to do. The question is whether Brendan Doherty can do a better job landing his punches this fall.

Ted Nesi ( tnesi@wpri.com ) covers politics and the economy for WPRI.com and writes the Nesi’s Notes blog. Follow him on Twitter: @tednesi

This post has been updated with minor revisions.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – More than half of Anthony Gemma’s supporters will desert the Democratic Party and vote for Republican Brendan Doherty if incumbent David Cicilline is the party’s congressional candidate, an exclusive WPRI 12 poll released Monday night shows.

Read the rest of this story »

• Related: New WPRI 12 Poll: Cicilline 43%, Gemma 31%, undecided 17% (Aug. 27)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Anthony Gemma is losing ground in his Democratic primary campaign against Congressman David Cicilline, as nearly half of likely voters are still unfamiliar with the two-time candidate, an exclusive WPRI 12 poll released Monday evening shows.

Read the rest of this story »

The president of the group: Laura Perez, who made headlines again Wednesday when she was the first individual to speak up and claim she could prove Anthony Gemma’s allegations of rampant voter fraud.

A Spanish-language news article at the time reported Perez announced the switch to Caprio at an event along Broad Street, which is where Gemma held Wednesday’s news conference. She claimed Chafee was ignoring the Hispanic community, talking about E-Verify but not taxes and economic development.

Records show Perez has run for state representative in every election since 2006, and will be on the ballot again next month against Rep. Grace Diaz. She alleged voter fraud in September 2006 while testifying before the Board of Elections, but state police closed its investigation into the allegation due to a lack of information.

The other two individuals who spoke out after Gemma were Providence City Councilman Wilbur Jennings and a woman who identified herself as Erminia Garcia. There is a registered voter in Providence named Erminia Garcia Lopez who is a member of the Democratic Party Committee in Ward 9, though it’s unclear if they’re the same person.

(photo: Ted Nesi/WPRI)

Dan Harrop, the prominent Republican activist who ran for mayor against Cicilline in 2006 and lost by 66 points, could barely stop laughing as he discussed Gemma’s allegations about what took place in that race, calling them “just nuts.”

“I disagree with the congressman on almost everything and I’m working hard to have Brendan Doherty replace him, and I don’t believe for a second that Mr. Cicilline and his team were crazy enough to buy votes against me,” Harrop, finance chairman of the Rhode Island Republican Party, told WPRI.com on Wednesday afternoon.

“Let’s be fair,” he said. “I’m not one of those politicians who can go after people when it’s simply not true. It’s ridiculous. I never heard any of that, I never saw any of that – there was no reason to do that.”

Harrop added: “I am the ‘victim’ and I am for Doherty – and I don’t believe a word of it.”

During the packed press conference, Gemma read statements from unidentified witnesses alleging that extra paper ballots were submitted at the Roger Williams Botanical Garden polling place during the 2006 election when the machines malfunctioned and that voter impersonators were brought to the polls by Cicilline staffers to cast ballots.

Harrop described Gemma’s press conference as a strange spectacle. “It would be unprofessional for a psychiatrist to use the term ‘crazy’ for someone he hasn’t examined – so I’ll let other people use those words,” he said.

Harrop said he’s “absolutely confident Doherty will win – he’s the better candidate with the better platform,” but said the Republican should win in November “fair and square.”

• Related: Gemma alleges Cicilline voter fraud | Watch the press conference (Aug. 22)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Democratic congressional candidate Anthony Gemma leveled a string of shocking charges at incumbent David Cicilline at a packed press conference on Wednesday but largely refused to corroborate them under hostile questioning from reporters.

Read the rest of this story »

• Related: Watch the entire Gemma news conference on WPRI.com (Aug. 22)

Tim White and I will be covering the event at Gemma’s Broad Street headquarters – watch our Twitter feeds – and WPRI will stream the announcement live on our website for those who want to see it for themselves. We’ll have reports on what transpired later in the day here on WPRI.com and on TV this evening.

Meanwhile, David Cicilline’s campaign released a new TV ad this morning – “America” – and sent an email to supporters accusing Gemma of “outrageous political stunts.” But Democrats aligned with the congressman are privately admitting they’re nervous about what his highly unconventional opponent is about to do.

• Related: Gemma: My jobs plan ‘is as daunting as its promise is thrilling’ (Aug. 9)

A somewhat cryptic press advisory issued Thursday morning by Gemma’s otherwise quiet campaign announced he will hold a press conference next Wednesday at noon at his Providence headquarters to “discuss specifics regarding why his campaign hired a private investigation firm to look into voter fraud.”

“Mr. Gemma will also discuss how investigating voter fraud revealed other potential criminal actions by David Cicilline and his associates,” the statement continued. “The investigation has now attracted the attention of several federal authorities.” Gemma will be joined by his legal counsel at the event, the advisory said.

Cicilline campaign manager Eric Hyers quickly hit back. “If Anthony Gemma has something to say or an accusation to make he needs to say it now and show whatever proof he claims he has,” Hyers told WPRI.com. “This is a desperate and outrageous stunt; he ought to put up or shut up today.”

A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha’s office declined to comment.

Shortly before the press advisory went out, Gemma apparently previewed it in a Twitter post: “Be prepared for breaking news that will have an immediate, stunning, game-changing impact on Rhode Island politics. Dark days soon will end.”

The advisory comes the same week embattled state Rep. Leo Medina leveled his own voter fraud charges during an interview on WPRO. In February, state Rep. Anastasia Williams told The New Republc she’d seen examples of voter fraud, too, singling out a large Hispanic man she said is nicknamed “El Macho.” Both Medina and Williams are Providence Democrats. Rhode Island has a new voter ID law taking effect this year.

Political observers have been mystified by the campaign being run by Gemma, who trailed Cicilline by four points in a May WPRI 12 poll. He’s purchased almost no advertising and made few high-profile public appearances as Cicilline, who beat him in 2010, continued to ramp up his campaigning. Gemma’s social media footprint has also been questioned.

Gemma and Cicilline will face off Aug. 28 in a televised debate on WPRI 12 ahead of the Sept. 11 primary.

Update: RIFuture flags a longer statement from Gemma on his Facebook page:

Be prepared for breaking news that will have an immediate, stunning, game-changing impact on Rhode Island politics. It will make national headlines. Lives will be changed profoundly – and mostly for the better. Yes, the news will upset us and challenge us. It will require us to tap deep resources of personal strength and to be outraged by the manner in which we have been governed for years. But we are strong. And we are patriots who will realize that it is not our system of government that is corrupt, but only those who have abused the system in support of their hideous personal agendas. We will survive this, and emerge stronger than ever. And through it all, I will be there for you.

• Related: Anthony Gemma discloses more than $3M in personal wealth (Aug. 15)

Tim White contributed to this report. This post has been updated and expanded.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Democratic congressional candidate Anthony Gemma and his estranged wife own assets worth more than $3 million, according to a disclosure detailing his personal finances obtained by WPRI.com.

Gemma reported owning assets worth between $3.16 million and $9.74 million. His most valuable asset is his partnership in Media Peel LLC, which sold a majority stake to Alex & Ani earlier this year. Gemma said his stake in Media Peel is worth between $1 million and $5 million.

Gemma said his income from Jan. 1 to July 15 of this year totaled between $315,872 and $2.2 million from all sources, including $51,854 in salary from Media Peel and $28,808 in salary from Media Buying & Marketing Bureau LLC. His income from all sources in 2011 was between $274,044 and $1.26 million, including a $138,836 salary from Media Buying & Marketing.

The disclosure forms only ask candidates to report the value of their holdings in broad ranges. A spokesman for Gemma did not respond to emails asking about the filing, which was due last week.

Gemma is part of three corporate partnerships worth between $500,001 and $1 million: Gem Plumbing & Heating Co. Inc., Maple Realty LLC and Birch Realty LLC. Another partnership, Gem Investments LLC, is worth $250,001 to $500,000. He also listed bank accounts, retirement accounts and investments owned by his wife and son.

Gemma owes between $115,003 and $250,000 to three creditors, including two credit cards carrying liabilities of between $100,001 and $200,000 that he dated to last month. He also owes up to $50,000 on a loan he took out from his Gem Plumbing 401(k) account in October 2010.

Gemma’s disclosure also said his wife earned a salary from Sandman Anesthetics Ltd. in Lincoln but did not disclose the amount. The couple recently announced they plan to divorce. Gemma faces incumbent Congressman David Cicilline in the Sept. 11 Democratic primary for Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District.

Gemma and his wife own a single-family house on Jenckes Hill Road in Lincoln, which has an assessed value of $537,300, according to the town assessor’s office. Candidates aren’t required to list their personal residences on their disclosure forms unless they earn rent from them.

Ted Nesi ( tnesi@wpri.com ) covers politics and the economy for WPRI.com and writes the Nesi’s Notes blog. Follow him on Twitter: @tednesi

Luckily for voters, Gemma has posted the 30-page plan on his website. And the open letter to Rhode Islanders that kicks it off offers a sense of how sweeping the two-time candidate’s vision is.

“Its detail is as daunting as its promise is thrilling,” Gemma declares. “Yet you will find that every step I propose to take is supported by copious documentation. And rest assured that I know precisely how high the stakes are for every man, woman and child in Rhode Island.”

“Let me be direct,” he continues. “When my Congressional 21st Century Jobs Plan is successful, it will be remembered as the opening engagement in a New Industrial Revolution for the 21st century.”

The document forecasts that its provisions will create 10,000 new jobs over five years. “By any empirical measurement it is the most ambitious, aggressive, documented, challenging, and promising jobs plan currently before the people of Rhode Island,” Gemma writes in the conclusion.

These are the four points in Gemma’s jobs plan:

1. “Positioning Rhode Island to become the center of America’s $125 billion wellness industry.”
2. “Accelerating job growth in the health care industry.”
3. “Creating construction jobs to build and restore infrastructure and to support the use of green and renewable technologies in the development and expansion of new and existing businesses in the wellness and healthcare industries.”
4. “Facilitating easier access to demand-driven education and training at the Community College of Rhode Island and other higher education and technical institutions.”

A footnote defines wellness as “measures and consumer goods and services used to prevent disease and the promotion of physical well-being through active and healthier lifestyle.” The full plan is here as a PDF.

A primary challenger in a tight Rhode Island congressional race has nearly 1 million Twitter followers — more than Mitt Romney — but he’s not talking about how he amassed such a staggering social media fan base in a short span of time. …

Other candidates recently have been caught up in allegations that their campaigns were buying Twitter followers, including Romney and Newt Gingrich. That’s relatively easy to do online, costs only pennies apiece and is not illegal — only in violation of Facebook and Twitter terms of service.

But an oversized social footprint that suggests mass appeal can be embarrassing for a campaign should it be revealed. …

Fewer than 1 percent of Gemma’s Twitter followers are based in Rhode Island, but 14 percent are in Canada, according to Michael Hussey, CEO of PeekAnalytics, one of two independent social media research firms that provided POLITICO data on Gemma. Many of his followers’ profile photos are racy and their hometowns include cities such as Istanbul and Karachi, Pakistan.

Read the rest here. Friess tweeted an ironic twist: when he began working on the story he found out that Gemma was already following him. He also notes that the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Research Foundation actually has more followers than the better-known Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

• Related: Anthony Gemma has a new Twitter feed: @Gemma4Congress (July 19)

The tweet from @Gemma4Congress, which arrived at about 2:35 p.m, said: ”Thank You so much for your support of @AnthonyGemma, @tednesi.”

Now, as a reporter I make an effort not to support one candidate over another, particularly in races that I’m covering. Nor did I recall publicly declaring my support for Gemma over his Democratic opponent David Cicilline on Twitter, or anywhere else for that matter.

But I did send this tweet at 1:35 p.m.: “NARLAL Pro-Choice America endorses @davidcicilline, says @anthonygemma ‘is attempting a make-over’ on his abortion stance.” And judging by the @Gemma4Congress page, it’s programmed to send an automatic “thank you” to those who mention @anthonygemma.

This may not come as a surprise considering Gemma’s social-networking skills have already drawn considerable critical attention. At this writing, @Gemma4Congress has accumulated 13,683 followers just nine days after sending its first tweet, far surpassing @davidcicilline’s 3,432.

Most of the @Gemma4Congress tweets are those automated thank-yous, but there are also job postings (#GemmaJobs), weather reports (“It’s going to be PM Thunderstorms tomorrow!”), photos (a Central Falls senior event), and of course inspirational quotations: ”Dream your dreams with your eyes closed but live your dreams with your eyes open!” Who can argue with that?

Cicilline’s campaign has spent $831,932 over the last 18 months, using more than half the nearly $1.6 million in contributions he’s collected over the same period, according to a report he filed Sunday night with the Federal Election Commission.

Brendan Doherty, Cicilline’s Republican challenger and the frontrunner in the 1st District race, has spent $312,303 on his campaign, or about a third of the $931,448 in donations he’s collected since entering the race in May 2011, according to his FEC filing.

During the second quarter Cicilline spent $164,486, paying $15,076 to local campaign-finance expert Brett Smiley’s company; $13,500 to Rolla Group, a D.C. Democratic fundraising firm; $11,303 to Washington’s Feldman Group for polling; and $8,500 to “Lively Experiment” host Dyana Koelsch for communications help.

Like most campaigns, Cicilline’s also spent plenty of money on food from local establishments including Seven Stars Bakery, the Best Western Mainstay Inn, Centro, the Providence Biltmore, the Country Inn, Edwards Restaurant & Lounge and Pranzi Catering, as well as Bistro Bis Restaurant in Washington.

Doherty spent $105,756 during the second quarter, including $20,956 to Adams Point Consulting, the firm founded by former Rhode Island Republican Party chairman Gio Cicione. The Doherty campaign’s payments to Adams Point fell from $10,123 in April to $4,500 in June as campaign manager Ian Prior took over.

Doherty also spent $6,000 with prominent local Republican fundraiser Anthony Bucci; $5,500 with accountants Galvin & Associates in East Providence; $2,425 with Web firm Brave River Solutions in Warwick; $2,259 with the Bellwether Consulting Group, a GOP fundraising firm in Washington; and $2,115 with Virginia polling and media firm OnMessage Inc.

Doherty’s food spending ran the gamut from Dunkin Donuts, Honey Dew and Entemans Bakery to Bull Feathers Pub in Washington. He also bought refreshments at BJ’s Wholesale Club, Stop & Shop and Shaws.

The pace of spending is picking up for both campaigns as the election draws closer. Doherty’s spending used up 49% of his second-quarter contributions, while Cicilline’s spending used up about 55%.

Anthony Gemma, who is challenging Cicilline in the Sept. 11 Democratic primary, has spent $86,654 on his campaign, nearly all of it since April 1, his FEC filing shows. Gemma reported spending $10,500 on print advertising and $2,275 on radio advertising through his former company Mediapeel.

Gemma made a personal loan of $150,000 to his Democratic congressional campaign on June 30, he disclosed Sunday night in a Federal Election Commission filing. He also donated $42,263 to it and collected $50,373 from others during the second quarter, finishing with $164,343 on hand.

The new $150,000 loan is on top of $193,039 Gemma still owes himself from his 2010 campaign, when he came in second to David Cicilline in the Democratic primary. He now owes himself $343,039 for his two campaigns, the filing shows.

Cicilline finished the three months ended June 30 with $836,325 on hand after raising $299,423, his filing showed. Republican Brendan Doherty – who, unlike Cicilline, doesn’t have a primary challenger – ended the period with $669,350 on hand after raising $215,255, according to his filing.

Cicilline’s two challengers now have a combined $833,693 on hand, only about $3,000 less than the incumbent Democrat, who continues to face a tough battle for reelection. Since the start of last year Cicilline has raised nearly $1.6 million, while Doherty has raised $931,448 since he started in May 2011.

Gemma spokesman Alex Morash said Friday the campaign “took in more than $242,000 in contributions and a personal loan” during the second quarter. Morash didn’t disclose the size of the loan Gemma made.

Gemma, who embarked on a rematch against David Cicilline after placing second to him in the 2010 primary to replace Patrick Kennedy, formally jumped into the race in May. As of March 31, he still owed himself $197,132 from three loans he made to his 2010 campaign.

Cicilline raised more than $300,000 in the three months ended June 30, his campaign said this week. The incumbent Democrat finished the second quarter with more than $825,000 on hand.

Brendan Doherty, the Republican who is ahead of Cicilline and Gemma in public polls, raised more than $200,000 in the second quarter and finished with $663,000 on hand, his campaign said this week.

A WPRI 12 poll in May gave Cicilline a slim lead in the Democratic primary, with 40% of voters supporting him, 36% supporting Gemma and 20% undecided. The primary is Sept. 11.

• Related: Patrick Kennedy takes Gemma to task for ripping fellow Dems (May 13)

Brendan Doherty isn’t sure if he’s going to show up at next month’s Republican National Convention.

“He hasn’t made a decision on that yet,” Doherty campaign manager Ian Prior told WPRI.com. “I’ll let you know when he does.” Republicans are scheduled to gather from Aug. 27 to 30 in Tampa Bay, Fla., to make Mitt Romney their presidential nominee.

The decision to attend the national party’s convention has become a hot potato for candidates like Doherty running in districts – or states – that are likely to support the other party’s presidential candidate, though so far Politico says more Democrats than Republicans have said they plan to stay home.

In contrast to Doherty, there was little hesitation by Congressman David Cicilline about attending the Democratic National Convention from Sept. 3 to 6 in Charlotte, N.C., where President Obama will be nominated for a second term.

“David is a strong supporter of President Obama and will be proud to attend the convention, schedule permitting,” spokeswoman Nicole Kayner told WPRI.com. Her hedging is likely because the convention will take place the week before Rhode Island’s Sept. 11 Democratic primary, in which Cicilline will face Anthony Gemma.

A spokesman for Gemma didn’t respond to an email asking whether he’ll attend the convention.

(photo: Doherty campaign)

In a statement Thursday evening, the former congressman took Anthony Gemma to task for telling WPRO-AM he won’t support fellow Democrats U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressman Jim Langevin in November. Gemma cited their support for incumbent Congressman David Cicilline over him.

“It is critically important that we all continue supporting our fantastic federal delegation this year in Senator Whitehouse and Congressmen Langevin and Cicilline,” Kennedy said. “This is about Rhode Island, not about each candidate, and I don’t think Mr. Gemma understands this.”

Gemma told WPRO the other federal officials should have stayed neutral in the Democratic primary. “I’m frustrated with Senator Whitehouse that he has not stepped up and done what’s right for me,” he said. “His constituents are telling him in droves that I am the right candidate. I know it for a fact.”

Gemma added that he does support U.S. Sen. Jack Reed because “he’s not running.”

Cicilline defeated Gemma in the Democratic primary to succeed Kennedy two years ago after the veteran congressman decided to retire. In his statement, Kennedy said he supports the three incumbents because of their positions on Social Security, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, offshoring and fossil-fuel subsidies.

“I was proud to serve with Senator Whitehouse and Congressman Langevin in Washington and I saw firsthand their dedication to Rhode Island and their fierce advocacy for the people of our state,” he said.

A WPRI 12 poll in May showed Cicilline with a slim in the Democratic primary, with 40% of voters supporting him, 36% supporting Gemma and 20% undecided. The primary is Sept. 11.

A reader who lives in Providence got called on Sunday for a telephone survey that asked about the three candidates running in the 1st District – Democrats David Cicilline and Anthony Gemma, and Republican Brendan Doherty – plus two other Democrats: Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts and Treasurer Gina Raimondo.

Roberts and Raimondo? For Congress?

The poll tested their favorability ratings, Raimondo’s job approval rating and how they’d fare against Brendan Doherty in the November election. It’s unlikely either woman is planning to jump into the race, though – they’d need to declare their candidacies by Wednesday to get on the ballot.

Much of the poll focused on Cicilline and Doherty, checking how voters react to various potentially divisive facts about the Democrat (tax issues, support for Nancy Pelosi, Providence’s solvency, mob connections) and the Republican (Bush tax cuts, abortion, Medicare cuts).

The tipster wasn’t familiar with the name of the polling firm, but said it sounded like “Kalamata.”

• Related: New WPRI 12 Poll: Cicilline 40%, Gemma 36%, undecided 20% (May 16)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Congressman David Cicilline sent more than 17,000 voters a letter this weekend blasting the Republican Party’s “extreme” policies on Medicare, transportation and “Big Oil” – and taxpayers picked up the tab.

Read the rest of this story »

By Tim White

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Congressman David Cicilline’s recent apology for calling Providence’s finances “excellent” in 2010 will have little impact on Democratic primary voters when they head to the polls in September, an exclusive WPRI 12 poll reveals.

Read the rest of this story »

• Related: New WPRI 12 Poll: Cicilline 40%, Gemma 36% (May 16)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Congressman David Cicilline holds a slim lead over his Democratic primary opponent Anthony Gemma with less than four months to go before voters will decide which man should face Republican Brendan Doherty, an exclusive WPRI 12 poll released Wednesday evening shows.

Read the rest of this story »

By Tim White and Ted Nesi

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Anthony Gemma says he’s hiring Christopher Nocera, a former staffer to Buddy Cianci and Patrick Kennedy, as the campaign manager for his Democratic primary bid in Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District.

“At this point we have hired some top staffers,” Gemma told WPRI.com on Wednesday. “Chris Nocera will be the campaign manager and that will be announced shortly with a couple of other staffers that we have.”

Nocera, who currently works for the Providence Water Supply Board, told WPRI.com he has not accepted the offer from Gemma yet but is “seriously considering it.” He said he’s known Gemma his whole life and thinks he’d “make a great congressman” but the candidate jumped the gun by revealing his plans.

Nocera, the brother of New York Times columnist Joe Nocera, worked for Kennedy when he was a Rhode Island state representative after managing his first General Assembly campaign in 1988. He later worked for the Cianci administration and in 2011 got a job with newly elected mayor Angel Taveras after working on his campaign.

Dan Mercer, who was a deputy campaign manager with Gemma’s 2010 primary campaign, was with the candidate Wednesday but isn’t working for him, Gemma said. Mercer became vice president of sales at Mediapeel, Gemma’s company, after the last campaign.

In an interview Wednesday prior to the 6 p.m. release of an exclusive WPRI 12 primary poll, Gemma said Tiverton Democratic Town Committee Chairman Mike Burk “is lying” when he claims the candidate told a group of party leaders this week he would run as an independent in the general election if Cicilline wins the primary.

“I was appalled by Mr. Gemma’s arrogance and condescending attitude,” Burk said in an email Monday after the candidate addressed the Democratic City and Town Committee Chairs Association’s executive committee. Cicilline and Congressman Jim Langevin also spoke separately to the group.

In response, Gemma said he told them “had David Cicilline prevailed in the primary I would have a very hard time backing him because my personal belief is he is not the right person for the job. That’s what I said. I never said I was running as an independent.” He added that he had a recording of the meeting as proof.

Burk, the Tiverton chairman, stood by his version of what transpired. Gemma “said he would not support Cicilline if Cicilline is the winner of the primary and that he would run as an independent if that happened, even if that led to the Republican candidate possibly winning a three-way race,” he told WPRI.com in an email.

But two other local party chairman – Lincoln’s Joseph Paiva and Portsmouth’s Len Katzman – said Burk’s memory was only half-right. They said Gemma told them he would probably write in his own name rather than vote for Cicilline, but did not claim he would mount an independent candidacy.

“I am 100% confident, however, that he said he would not support the eventual party nominee if it was David Cicilline and that he’d rather write in his own name than vote for Congressman Cicilline,” Katzman said in an email.

• Related: Gemma campaign hires 8; buys radio ads, mailers, robocalls (May 7)

This article has been updated and expanded.

We’ll have the answer Wednesday when we release the results of an exclusive new WPRI 12 poll. Democratic primary voters in the 1st Congressional District weighed in on whether they plan to vote for Cicilline or Gemma, how they feel about the two candidates, which one is more electable and how Cicilline’s apology tour is going.

Tim White and I will have the complete poll results online and on air Wednesday at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. The survey of 302 likely Democratic primary voters in the 1st District was conducted last Tuesday through Saturday by our pollster, Fleming & Associates, and its margin of error is 5.7 percentage points.

• Related: Exclusive WPRI 12 Poll: GOP’s Doherty has big lead over Cicilline (Feb. 27)