DeGenova

CRANSTON –– This city’s two Democratic primaries generated more than their share of pre-election heat.

State Rep. Peter G. Palumbo and his opponent, John C. DeGenova, a retired deputy fire chief, clashed over hot-button issues including immigration and abortion.

And City Council hopefuls Robert J. Pelletier and Michael J. Farina exchanged charges of dirty campaigning.

But for all the fiery rhetoric, neither contest drew many voters –– just 5.7 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in primaries citywide –– and neither contest was particularly close.

Palumbo won almost 62 percent of the vote in his race. And Pelletier got the backing of 61 percent in his contest.

A review of election data and interviews with candidates and Democratic leaders suggest that the party endorsement and old-fashioned shoe leather –– knocking on doors and getting cousins, brothers and friends to the polls –– were ultimately more important than any ideological divides.

“I think it was the ground operation more than anything else,” said Michael J. Sepe, chairman of the Democratic City Committee, discussing the Palumbo-DeGenova race.

Precinct-by-precinct results show Palumbo racked up his heaviest margins at the polling places in and around the Garden City neighborhood, where he grew up and still lives.

At the Cranston Public Library polling station, he won almost 72 percent of the vote, picking up 148 of the 551 votes he took districtwide.

And at Garden City School, Palumbo won 71 percent, piling up 149 votes.

“This was a super old-school, down-and-dirty, grass-roots effort,” he said.

Palumbo, who opposes abortion rights, said students from anti-abortion groups at Providence College and Brown University put fliers promoting his candidacy on windshields at area churches Sunday afternoon.

And on Tuesday, he said, the Rhode Island Right to Life Committee’s political arm made automated calls to supporters in his District 16.

Palumbo said he also had support from local teachers and an army of friends and family members — his mother, brother, three aunts, several cousins, nephews, a sister-in-law and others.

The volunteers made phone calls, held signs and knocked on doors to get voters to the polls.

But Palumbo, who became a talk-radio darling this year with his high-profile push to crack down on illegal immigration, said his get-tough approach on the issue also played a substantial role.

The voters’ response was “absolutely huge,” he said, “more than any issue I’ve ever dealt with.”

His opponent, DeGenova, said he worked hard to get out the vote, relying on help from firefighters and a contingent of family and friends –– particularly “Cheryl’s crew,” a group of women headed by his wife, Cheryl Houlihan.

But DeGenova, who had labeled the conservative Palumbo a “Democrat In Name Only” or DINO, said not enough Democrats turned out for the primary.

Independents, he said, made up some 80 percent of the voters in the race.

“The Democrats didn’t come out and vote,” he said, adding later, “It baffles me.”

But city elections officials could not confirm the number of independent, or unaffiliated, voters who cast ballots in the race.

And Sepe, the party chairman, said it is not unusual for independents –– who make up the largest voting bloc in Cranston –– to play a big role in primaries.

Pelletier, endorsed by the Democratic City Committee for the Ward 4 council seat being vacated by Democrat Maria Bucci, picked up the bulk of his vote at the polling stations surrounding the proposed Phenix Terrace development.

The proposal for 198 apartments and townhouses has drawn sharp opposition from neighbors worried about traffic and neighborhood character.

And while both candidates opposed the development, Pelletier placed his opposition at the center of his campaign.

And he regularly attended meetings of the neighborhood opposition group, the Cranston Intelligent Development Committee –– picking up several campaign volunteers in the process.

Pelletier said his aggressive opposition to the project was an important part of his success at the polls.

But the most significant factor, he said, was a bit more pedestrian.

“My key to victory: walking and speaking to voters,” Pelletier said.

Sepe added that the party’s endorsement, which carried a “built-in organization” of party officials and elected Democrats, was also important.

Farina added that poor turnout on Election Day hurt his chances.

Pelletier, as the endorsed candidate, had a certain number of automatic votes, he said.

Only with a turnout of 800 or more voters could he have hoped to surmount that natural advantage, he said. Just 602 voters cast ballots.

Farina said the rain and the lack of any high-profile races on the ticket conspired to keep voters home.

dscharfe@projo.com