3 Dems vie for nomination in AG race

PROVIDENCE, RI (AP) - Ask the three Democrats vying for the nomination for Rhode Island attorney general what their top priorities are and you’ll hear some similar answers: Cracking down on public corruption and making the state a safer place to live.

But the two former police officers—state Rep. Peter Kilmartin and Smithfield Town Councilman Steve Archambault—and former Providence city solicitor Joe Fernandez each says his resume and life experience puts him in the best position to make that happen.

Voters will decide Sept. 14 which candidate to send to the general election in the race to succeed fellow Democrat Patrick Lynch.

Lynch could not seek re-election because of term limits, and entered the governor’s race but dropped out when his campaign funds began to lag.

The primary winner is expected to face Republican Erik Wallin and Moderate Chris Little on Nov. 2.

No reliable public polls have been conducted in the race.

But by one measure—fundraising—Fernandez has led his opponents. He had about $230,000 in his campaign account by the end of June, according to filings with the state Board of Elections.

Archambault had about $190,000, which includes a $126,000 loan to himself, and Kilmartin, the endorsed Democrat, had about $180,000 in his account, after a $26,000 loan.

Fernandez, 46, a Brown University alumnus, graduated from Harvard Law School in 1991. He worked in New York City and Providence as a business lawyer and litigator before being appointed city solicitor in 2003 by Mayor David Cicilline. He left last year to run for office.

Fernandez says he turned the department around after years of mismanagement under then-Mayor Buddy Cianci, who was convicted of corruption. A Pennsylvania native whose parents immigrated from the Philippines, Fernandez paints himself as an outsider making his first run for office, saying he’s not beholden to anyone.

“I’ve not grown up in the state’s political system,” he said.

Fernandez hasn’t been completely disengaged from politics: He co-chaired Harvard classmate Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign in Rhode Island.

Fernandez highlights his work to revoke the pension of a former Providence police chief who admitted rigging promotional tests and his push for a Providence law that requires banks to negotiate mortgages before they foreclose.

Both Fernandez and Archambault want to create the first corruption unit for the attorney general’s office.

Archambault, 45, who has his own law practice and is the town prosecutor for Lincoln, was a Jamestown police officer for five years. He says he’s appeared in every courtroom in the state.
“I have the background to do the job,” he said.

Archambault grew up on a small dairy farm in Smithfield and has a law degree from Roger Williams School of Law.

He called for the reinstitution of Ethics Commission oversight of lawmakers for their votes at the Statehouse. The state Supreme Court last year ruled lawmakers were immune from ethics complaints on the basis of their votes.

Archambault says voters he talks to are frustrated with the economy, and he plans to crack down on mortgage fraud and predatory lenders. He says he’ll also crack down on drunken drivers, increasing penalties for those who drive under the influence with a child in the car.

Kilmartin, 48, a Pawtucket native, has been in the House for 20 years. He served nearly 24 years as a Pawtucket police officer and got his law degree from Roger Williams.

He wants the office to collaborate with after-school programs, pooling their resources and those of the attorney general’s office to help get grants for the centers, which he said can help prevent crime by giving youth a place to go. He promised to go to an elementary school every week to educate children about topics, such as cyberbullying and predators on the street.

“I think the attorney general’s office needs to be in the neighborhoods, interacting with the people and being proactive,” he said.

He said he would eliminate the possibility of pay-to-play deals in instances when the office must hire an outside law firm. The firms and their employees would be barred from contributing to the attorney general’s office during the length of the employment and for a period of time afterward, such as one to two years.