Richard J. DelFino Jr., the long-serving and successful chairman of the Johnston Democratic Town Committee, called his agenda for Monday night’s meeting “one of the most important, exciting and special sessions we’ve had in quite a while.”
For starters, DelFino praised the famed Maria SS Della DiFesa Society “for its extraordinary generosity of offering its home here at 15 Lafayette St. [in Johnston] at absolutely no charge. And for that, we are extremely grateful.”
Former state Rep. John Carnevale – a ranking official in the famed DiFesa Society and active JDTC member – came into the upstairs room carrying boxes that contained homemade pizza, spinach pies and small calzones as well as bottled water and soda that served as the night’s post-meeting refreshments.
The night’s most important item, though, resulted in what DelFino said was “the JDTC establishing a major change in its election endorsement process,” which he actually spearheaded and was later unanimously passed.
DelFino’s proposal to change the format and protocol in the endorsement of candidates seeking office for the Johnston Town Council and School Committee will take effect for the 2022 election.
He explained that “prior to this change, each of the five districts in town voted on the endorsement of candidates from their respective districts, meaning a majority of the 11 members from each district determined who would be given the endorsement and who would be supported by the full committee.”
Monday night, DelFino proposed having all 55 JDTC members vote on the endorsement of each Town Council and School Committee candidate representing each district. He said the full committee has a vested interest in which candidates would receive the endorsement and choose those candidates who were best to work as a team.
With that change, the full committee will endorse the candidates for mayor, Town Council and School Committee. He also stressed the importance of all candidates supporting the team, to include those candidates running for Rhode Island Senate and House of Representatives.
DelFino was recently elected president of the Rhode Island Association of Democratic City and Town Chairpersons, which he emphasized “will play a very influential role in helping the [state] Democratic Party choose its candidates for state and federal offices.”
Monday night’s meeting also included several special surprises and the announcement that due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the JDTC’s annual Friends and Family Breakfast will not be held and that no similar events will be held at least until the fall and new year.
“This was always a successful and widely attended event by Democrats from all over the state,” DelFino noted. “Even our federal office holders made it an annual stop and we’re looking forward to when we can again have the breakfast.”
Moreover, DelFino announced “we’ll take a two- to three-month break in our meetings before resuming the sessions and talking about further ways to hold fundraisers that offset our annual expenses.”
Mayor Joseph Polisena asked to speak to the night’s large JDTC membership, and he offered a couple surprising announcements.
The first was that he would continue to fund the Mayor Polisena/JDTC Election Headquarters for the 2022 campaign.
Polisena then announced that he was also taking money from his election campaign account and donating a check for $1,000 that will help the valuable and all-volunteer JDTC maintain its expenses.
The night’s surprises, though, didn’t end with Polisena’s special donation.
That’s when long-time JDTC members and business owners Sam and Rhonda Sasa announced they were donating $1,000, which they hope will cover some of the revenue lost by not having the Friends and Family Breakfast. That fundraiser usually hauled in an excess of $2,000.
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