Warren Democrats do not endorse District 67 Primary winner

Jason Knight believes the fix was in.

The Democratic candidate for the District 67 (Barrington and Warren) seat recently requested the endorsement of the Warren Democratic Town Committee, but realized very quickly into his pitch that the group had other plans.

Knight defeats Malik in Primary.

The Barrington resident said he attended Friday night's meeting of the Warren Democratic Town Committee, shared some of his thoughts with the group and answered questions asked by the committee members. After a short while, however, Mr. Knight grew pessimistic about his chances of earning the endorsement.

"It was made explicit that if you're not from Warren what are you doing asking to represent Warren," he said. 

"There were people there who were never going to consider me."

In the end, the committee members voted nearly 2-to-1 to not endorse Mr. Knight.

At the meeting that night was Jan Malik — the sitting representative for District 67 and a native Warrenite. Mr. Knight defeated Rep. Malik in the Democratic Primary in mid-September.

Mr. Knight said Rep. Malik led the charge in asking questions during Friday night's meeting. Mr. Knight said Rep. Malik was among the "most aggressive" people asking questions.

At the time of the meeting, it had not yet been announced that Mr. Malik planned to re-enter the race for the District 67 seat, but Mr. Knight argues "The plan was in place that night."

Mr. Knight said that by Saturday morning, dozens of "Write-In Malik" signs had popped up all over Warren. And on Monday, Rep. Malik had gone public with his write-in campaign.

"I know it changes the dynamic of the race," said Mr. Knight, "but … it's certainly not a major shake-up.

"Write-in campaigns are notoriously hard to pull off."

Mr. Knight said he was disappointed in the decision by the Warren Democratic Town Committee to not endorse him for the general election, especially since he defeated Mr. Malik during the mid-September primary. 

"I'm disappointed in that I would like a unified party in the district," said Mr. Knight. "There is so much potential in this district…"

Mr. Knight said he has roots in Warren, the town in which his mother grew up. He said that after he defeated Rep. Malik in the Primary, the two men spoke on the phone and he promised Rep. Malik that if he won the general election, he would "take care of Warren."

"I went there (to the Warren Democratic Town Committee meeting) with no ulterior motives," Mr. Knight said. 

Libertarian response

The race for the District 67 seat also features Libertarian candidate Daryl Gould, who is a Warren resident. Mr. Gould recently took exception to some comments offered by Rep. Malik when he announced his intention to run as a write-in candidate.

Rep. Malik said Mr. Gould, if elected to the District 67 seat, would face an uphill battle once he arrived on Smith Hill because he is not a member of Democratic party. 

Mr. Gould responded to that remark by posting a comment to the East Bay Newspapers website: "I disagree with Mr. Malik's assertion that I will not be effective as a representative, as I am without a 'team'. My team is not defined by the letter before their name, whether it be D, R, L or I. My team is those who stand for the citizens and businesses of Rhode Island. These are the same people, parents, business owners, social and political activists, that I have aligned with on an issue by issue basis with great success. This partisan attitude is exactly what has been holding our state back. This seat belongs to the district and should be held by an individual who puts the district first…"