Exclusive: Shake-Up Within Providence Democratic Party

Exclusive: Shake-Up Within Providence Democratic Party

Lauren Nocera, the campaign manager who helped lead Angel Taveras to a sweeping victory in the Providence Mayor’s race last fall, will be the next Chairperson of the Providence Democratic City Committee, GoLocalProv has learned.

Nocera is one of three top-level aides from the Taveras campaign heading up a shakeup within the city’s Democratic Party. Joining her will be Alex Moore, a long-time progressive community activist who will serve as the Executive Director for the Party and Aaron Regunberg, a 21 year old Brown student known for helping to organize the rallies against the elimination of Hope High School’s block schedule, who will be a Field Director for the Party.

A vote will take place on Monday, July 18 at the Rosario Society Club to confirm Nocera, who lives in Ward 12. Although she does not currently serve on a Ward Committee, she can still be voted in to serve on the Executive Board. It is unclear whether she will face a challenge from anyone within the Party, but she is believed to have support from entire Executive Board as well as Mayor Taveras and Council President Michael Solomon.

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3rd Chair In Less Than A Year

If elected, Nocera will become the third Chairperson of the party in less than a year. Last September, following a primary in which the City Committee’s endorsed Mayoral candidate (Stephen Costantino) finished a distant third behind Taveras and former Mayor John Lombardi, Joan Badway chose to resign.

Replacing Badway was Kenneth Richardson, a CPA who also served on the city’s Retirement Board. But less than four months into the position, Richardson told GoLocalProv that he was resigning because he and his wife had decided to move to Warwick. Richardson’s final day on the Committee was June 30.

Victor Capellan is currently serving as Acting Chair until the vote takes place.

Changing Of The Guard

Nocera and the new Party staffers serve as prime examples of a changing of the guard within the city’s Democratic Party. Rich in tradition but often viewed as lacking relevance among young people and political organizers, the Party will now be led by a team that helped Taveras win every single city ward in last November’s general election.

Former State Rep., Councilman and Congressional candidate David Segal, who currently serves as Treasurer of the City Committee, said he is looking forward to working with the Nocera, Moore and Regunberg.

“It's exciting that we'll have such a smart, passionate, dynamic team in place to help get more residents involved in city politics and make sure the city gets its due at the State House,” Segal said.

Progressive Activists Will Work For Party

Moore holds both a Master’s and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Rhode Island. In addition to working on Taveras’ campaign last year, he also helped with the successful State Rep. campaigns of Chris Blazejewski, Richard Morrison, Teresa Tanzi and David Bennett .

Moore, who has also worked with ACORN, DARE and the RI Latino Political Action Committee, will earn between $35,000-$45,000 with benefits for his new role. He said he is looking forward to strengthening the city’s Democratic Party.

“I'm excited about working to make the Democratic City Committee a stronger and more vibrant organization,” Moore said. “We're currently working on opening up an office, redesigning our web site, and implementing social media tools.

Regunberg will be part-time as he finishes up his degree at Brown. In addition to his work at Hope High and on the Taveras campaign, he also headed up Rhode Islanders Advocating for Fair Taxes, a coalition aimed at supporting State Rep. Larry Valencia bill that would have raised taxes on the wealthiest five percent of Rhode Islanders. The bill did not pass.

Both Moore and Regunberg identify as progressives. Moore said he hopes the city will continue to elect candidates that identify with Democratic values.

“Providence is fortunate to be represented by a lot of great Democrats and I want to ensure that we keep recruiting and electing candidates who embrace the principles of our party,” Moore said.

 

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