Gablinske won’t run for Gallison’s vacated seat

Susan Donovan is so far only candidate for seat Gallison resigned amidst controversy

By Patrick Luce
Posted 6/23/16

With less than a week for candidates to declare for office, no one has officially jumped into the race to replace former state Rep. Ray Gallison, and the field of potential candidates narrowed when …

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Gablinske won’t run for Gallison’s vacated seat

Susan Donovan is so far only candidate for seat Gallison resigned amidst controversy

Posted

With less than a week for candidates to declare for office, no one has officially jumped into the race to replace former state Rep. Ray Gallison, and the field of potential candidates narrowed when former Rep. Doug Gablinske announced this week he will not seek the seat.

“I have decided not to run for state representative of the 69th district,” Mr. Gablinske, a democrat, said in a release regarding the seat Mr. Gallison resigned last month. “I am humbled by the outpouring of support from people who have called, reached out and stopped me in passing to offer their encouragement. I am grateful for their kind words and appreciate knowing that I had their support and the support of many more.”

Mr. Gablinske’s exit leaves just a single candidate — fellow Democrat Susan Donovan — who has announced her intention to run for the vacant seat but has not yet formally declared, according to Town Clerk Louis Cirillo. The deadline to do so is Wednesday, June 29 at 4 p.m.

Mr. Gablinske is a former state representative who lost a controversial Democratic primary to Richard Morrison in 2010. Mr. Gablinske was defeated largely by the state teachers union, which backed Mr. Morrison. John Leidecker, former deputy executive director of the National Education Association of Rhode Island, used an email address similar to Mr. Gablinske’s to send inflammatory emails to prospective voters distorting Mr. Gablinske’s position on bridge tolls. Mr. Leidecker was convicted in September 2011 of cyber-stalking Mr. Gablinske for sending the phony emails. But the damage was done, and the emails played a role in sinking Mr. Gablinske’s campaign.

The controversy has not soured Mr. Gablinske on public office, and he indicated he may consider a run in the future.

“This has been a difficult decision but I am glad I had the time to consider the opportunity,” he said. “I would like to run for office again, as I have always enjoyed public policy and working for the people. While this may be the right opportunity for me, it is not the right time for me. Hopefully, I have another opportunity to serve in the near future.”

His decision so far leaves Ms. Donovan alone at the top of the ballot. A Bristol native, Ms. Donovan was a Democratic contender for Bristol Town Council in 2014, missing the seat by just 34 votes, placing sixth behind Councilman Halsey Herreshoff. A retired teacher, she is a Hattie Brown Award winner, chairwoman of the East Bay chapter of Habitat for Humanity and recording secretary for the Bristol Democratic Town Committee. She is known for her work with Save Bristol Harbor to stop the transportation of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) through Mount Hope Bay.

The District 69 seat opened when Mr. Gallison, former House Finance Chairman, resigned on May 3, after news of state and federal investigations against him broke. In the week that followed, House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello ordered an audit of funds Mr. Gallison directed to Alternative Education Programming, which was run by Mr. Gallison and received millions in community service grants. Gov. Gina Raimondo also asked the state Department of Administration to investigate the taxpayer-funded grant program.

Mr. Gallison has long been a political fixture in Bristol, and was named last year’s Chief Marshal of the Fourth of July Parade. A longtime fixture in Rhode Island politics and last year’s Bristol Fourth of July Parade Chief Marshal, he was a member of Speaker Mattiello’s leadership team. He has so far declined any comment on his resignation or the investigation.

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