PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island House Speaker Gordon Fox is facing his toughest election challenge in years — from an independent political newcomer — as the fallout from Rhode Island’s failed investment in former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling’s defunct video game company continues to roil state politics.
Mark Binder said he once supported Fox but decided to challenge the veteran Democrat because of the role he played in the state’s loan guarantee to Schilling’s 38 Studios. The company filed for bankruptcy in June and the state is likely to be on the hook for some $100 million related to the deal.
Binder also faults Fox for dropping gay marriage legislation in 2011 and accuses him of supporting legislation favored by his campaign contributors.
“Under Speaker Fox there have been continuous misuses of power,” said Binder, an author and professional storyteller. “Is the government corrupt? You tell me. But the way it works doesn’t work for us.”
Fox — arguably the most powerful politician in state government — was expected to easily win another term in next month’s election. Instead he said he’s shed 11 pounds walking door-to-door in the East Side Providence district he has represented since 1993. He’s hired a campaign spokesman, printed election signs and even sent a letter to constituents to respond to Binder’s accusations.
In it, Fox said he feels “terrible” about the implosion of 38 Studios but that it was up to the state’s Economic Development Corp. to award the loan guarantee. Lawmakers passed legislation creating the loan program in 2010, but many say they did not know it would benefit Schilling’s company. Fox has acknowledged that he knew 38 Studios was interested in relocating to Rhode Island when the program was approved.
“It is disappointing that there are people who want to use the 38 Studios issue as a political weapon as opposed to learning from our mistakes,” Fox wrote to his constituents.
Fox is correct to take Binder’s challenge seriously, said Wendy Schiller, a Brown University political science professor who lives in Fox’s district. She notes that voters may be looking for someone to blame for the state’s battered economy and 10.5 percent unemployment rate.
“He’s worried about the anti-incumbent vote, and he’s associated with the 38 Studios debacle,” Schiller said. “He really needs to be reminding people of what he’s done for the district. People are frustrated. I think he needs to be everywhere — the supermarkets, the Dunkin Donuts — reminding people that this is a person, not an incumbent.”
There are other cracks in Fox’s political armor. A key member of his leadership team — Rep. Patrick O’Neill, D-Pawtucket — stepped down as House Majority Whip last month, citing the loan guarantee to 38 Studios as one reason. Fox also faced criticism last year for his decision to drop gay marriage legislation in favor of civil unions when it became clear the marriage bill wouldn’t pass the Senate.
Binder said Fox should have gone ahead with the vote on marriage — even if it failed — so voters would know where their lawmakers stood.
“He had the power to bring it (the marriage bill) to a vote and he didn’t,” Binder said.
Fox, who is gay, bristles at Binder’s accusations. He said marriage legislation wouldn’t have passed, and that the civil union legislation gave gay couples tangible rights. He’s vowed to call a vote on gay marriage next year if he retains his seat and his leadership position.
On the campaign trail, Fox stresses his service to the district and his leadership on wider issues such as education. At a recent candidate’s forum he talked about growing up in a working-class family with an Irish-American father and a Cape Verdean mother. He credited much of his success as a politician and an attorney to public schools.
“I’m a biracial gay kid that wasn’t supposed to be speaker,” he said.
Despite Binder’s vigorous challenge, few expect Fox to lose his seat. Longtime district resident Alan Hochman said he’s angry about 38 Studios too — but he doesn’t blame Fox, who he said has always worked hard for his neighborhood. Hochman said he’s known Fox for years, and remembers when he was a kid working at a local ice cream to help support his family.
“This is his closest race and some people are saying he’s forgotten his friends,” Hochman said. “But I can pick up the phone and call him and I get an answer.”
