As Johnston goes, so does the country

After a contentious election cycle that saw longshot presidential candidate Donald Trump win against the heavily favored Secretary Hillary Clinton, local leaders look ahead to assess what national political changes mean for the state and its residents. 

“Obviously I was disappointed that she didn’t win. She came to town and I got to meet her for the second time. She was very friendly and she was very warm to the residents that were there,” said Mayor Joseph Polisena of Johnston, currently the longest serving Democrat mayor in the state. “I’m disappointed, but I respect the process and I’m not going to be out there protesting or anything like that. But this is why this country is so great, because we have free elections.”

Clinton won the state’s presidential primary eight years ago, receiving 108,949 votes to then-Sen. Barack Obama’s 75,316. She won Johnston that year by a large margin, receiving 5,029 votes to Obama’s 1,540. This year, she won the state with a 54.4 percent of the vote to Donald Trump’s 38.9 percent, but Trump won Johnston.

Rhode Island was split nearly down its geographical center with the eastern portion voting for Clinton and the western side turning out for Trump.

Both candidates visited the state in April, with Trump stopping in Warwick and Clinton visiting Johnston and Woonsocket. But Johnston, long known as a town that votes heavily Democrat, flipped against Clinton this year. She lost the state in the Presidential Preference Primary to Sen. Bernie Sanders, with Johnston casting 1,660 votes for the Vermont senator to the secretary’s 1,331 votes.

That trend continued during the general election, with Johnston giving 7,548 votes for Trump to Clinton’s 5,637. The loss has caused the Democratic Party to seriously reflect on their platform and assess future strategies.

“I think it was his change message. I don’t think people wanted a change locally because we got our General Assembly members re-elected which was great,” said Polisena, who added that he was very satisfied with local results including the re-election of Rep. James Langevin. “But I think people on a national level with President Obama people felt that they weren’t seeing the change that they wanted to see, or it wasn’t fast enough. I know that we look for instant gratification, but he’s had eight long years and some people are not better off than they were eight years ago.” 

Rep. Langevin, a super-delegate who supported Clinton, said he was “incredibly excited about the outcome of my race” and was grateful and humbled by the strong showing of support in his four-way contest. While the presidential race didn’t turn out the way he expected, he said he plans on working through differences.

“I’m going to continue to do all the things I’ve been doing over the years and strive to solve people’s problems and make sure that the voices of Rhode Islanders are heard in Washington as we’re dealing with legislation, and at the same time at home doing the important constituent work that I do and my team does here in our district office and helping people deal with federal problems and solving federal problems, whether it’s Social Security, Medicare, veterans rights issues, immigration, and any issue when constituents call who need us to help cut through government red tape when they have no where else to turn,” he said.   

Langevin stands by his decision as a super-delegate who cast his vote for Clinton, contrary to the state voting for Sanders, saying that she had “devoted her whole life to public service and was so well prepared to be the next president.” He also recognizes that he’s returning to an uncertain environment and is taking a wait and see approach.

“In my view now, it’s up to all of us to try and come together and try to bridge divides and see where we can work together in a bipartisan way. I don’t know what a Trump presidency is going to be like. I hope it’s nothing like the campaign and I hope that he realizes the weight of responsibility that he has on his shoulders now and that there are deep divides in America and the best way we can heal those wounds and bridge that divide is by trying to find what is going to make people’s lives better, how do we grow a strong middle class and help and improve people’s standard of living and increase wages,” he said.

Langevin cited his record of crossing the aisle to work with Republicans on issues ranging from cybersecurity, homeland security, and career and technical education amongst others, and feels that political infighting and unwillingness to compromise may have led to a Trump win.

“I think that people are tired of the gridlock in Washington, and they’re trying to find a way to express that,” he said. “I think reaching out and finding bipartisan solutions is what people are looking for us to do and expect us to do because gridlock is just unacceptable,” he said. “The rest of the country really wants bipartisan solutions, and so I’m hoping that the new president recognizes that. Maybe because he’s not beholden to the Republican establishment that he can be his own man. I’m trying to be an optimist, looking for a silver lining that he’s going to want to get things done. But to get things done, it’s not just one way; it’s got to be working together.” 

While maintaining optimism, the representative acknowledged that little in the way of public policy, or a selection of a Supreme Court justice, for example, will take place during the rest of the lame duck session until the inauguration next year. He also recognized an undercurrent of concern in the state, with recent protests in Providence and across the country.

“People are worried. Now he’s got the wheels of power if you will, he’s the president and commander in chief. People wonder, can he wield that power responsibly?” said Langevin. “He has a real opportunity to make a profound difference in America if he does things the right way, otherwise, people will be justified in their fears and their trepidations. But I hope that’s not the case.”

The loss at the presidential level has also caused local and state parties to reassess their platforms going forward in an attempt to bring a message that differs from this year’s campaign with one that will align with constituent concerns.

“I think that the Democratic Party itself has to listen closely to those matters that are most important to its base,” said Johnston Democratic Town Committee Chairman Richard DelFino Jr. “I think that representing working middle class families whose traditions are indebted deep in faith and traditional values is the direction that the democratic party has to move.”

DelFino believes that it would suit the Democratic Party well if it listened to its base, stating that they should focus on working families, taking care of veterans, and family values.

“I think we have to move in that direction. I think the message that Trump was giving was appealing, not his whole message, but there were components of his message that better suited traditional middle class families,” he said. “I think that moving more towards the middle is where the Democratic Party should be. In some ways, Trump was more representative of some of those middle class types of values and messages that working families want to hear.” 

DelFino reiterated his party’s desire to be a proponent of labor, which he said has a deep-rooted tradition in Johnston and Rhode Island. He hopes the party meets to debrief and discuss what might be done differently.

“Do I think our super-delegates made the right choice in Hillary Clinton? I absolutely do, without even a question. I think she was clearly the most qualified and an excellent candidate,” he said. “There truly was a silent majority that was out there and I think the pollsters and hierarchy took things for granted. I don’t believe the ground game that probably should have been in place was in place.”

Representative Joseph McNamara, chairman of the Rhode Island Democratic Party, said his party’s primary focus in the short term should be selecting a chairperson for the Democratic National Committee, currently led by interim chair Donna Brazile, who has come under fire for her close ties to the Clinton campaign.

McNamara said he spoke recently to former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, and previously with Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison, both of which he believes would be a good fit for the job.   

“I think that discussion has to take place and start building the infrastructure that we need. Right now, a lot of people are just anticipating what kind of president Donald Trump will be,” said McNamara. “So I think we’re like the rest of the country; which Donald Trump is going to show up and govern, the one who reads teleprompters or the one who tweets at 3 a.m.? That certainly will determine what the next campaign will look like. But right now, our number one job is rebuilding and creating the infrastructure we need nationally for the presidency four years from now.” 

McNamara said the Democratic platform that was voted on in Philadelphia is very progressive and believes there needs to be more of a focus on economic opportunities, specifically for individuals who feel as though they’ve been left behind since the recession. He went on to say that 70 percent of all jobs that will become available in Rhode Island over the next 10 years would require post-secondary credentials, and there should be a renewed focus on making education and training affordable.

All of the above Democratic politicians, however, accepted the results of the race and believed that President-elect Trump deserves that respect and opportunity to lay out his agenda for the country.

“It’s disappointing that Hillary didn’t get in, but I turn the page and I start right now, for the next four years, I support our current President-elect, and I wish him well and I wish him luck and, hopefully, he’ll make the changes that he said he was going to make as far as the economy goes,” said Polisena.  “As we go, so does the world, and I think people just wanted a change.”