Charlie Berluti and Teresa Sullivan check in a voter at Carey School, in Newport’s 3rd Ward, yesterday. Political newcomer Steven J. Coaty, a Republican, defeated longtime Democrat figure J. Clement “Bud” Cicilline to win the Dist. 75 House seat.

The Providence Journal / Frieda Squires

NEWPORT — In yesterday’s special election to fill the vacant House seat of the late Paul W. Crowley, Republican Steven J. Coaty, a lawyer making his first bid for public office in Rhode Island, soundly defeated Democrat and former state Sen. J. Clement “Bud” Cicilline.

“We had a very successful night. We had a very nice victory,” said Coaty, just before taking a congratulatory call from the state’s top Republican, Governor Carcieri

In the race for Newport’s Dist. 75 House seat, Coaty defeated Cicilline 872 to 511, with 53 mail ballots still to be counted, according to preliminary results from Newport’s Board of Canvassers.

Cicilline could not be reached for comment, but Coaty said he had received a call from him conceding defeat. He called his foe a class act.

“I think the conventional wisdom was that Bud Cicilline had a well-known name, government experience some years back and that he, as a Democrat, had the support of the Democratic establishment, and was a shoo-in,” said Coaty. “If it’s an upset, it upset the Democratic establishment, if anything.”

While Cicilline supported expanding the sales tax to more goods and cautioned against cuts that would harm the disadvantaged, newcomer Coaty emphasized that he would seek to cut state spending and would not raise any taxes.

“We got our message out. People in the city of Newport are very concerned about the state of the fiscal crisis that we are facing and also the fact that it’s obvious they are more concerned with cutting government spending than raising taxes,” Coaty said. “That was a primary message we campaigned on, that we wouldn’t address the deficit by raising taxes. I think that resonated with the people of Newport.

He added, “People in Newport were sick and tired of one-party rule” by the resounding Democrat majority.

Cicilline, who did not a return a call seeking comment, was a senator for 10 years until 2002 when redistricting forced him to run against another incumbent, Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Paiva-Weed. Cicilline, 67, is the president and CEO of the nonprofit Newport County Community Mental Health Center and has taught at the Community College of Rhode Island for close to 30 years. He served on the School Committee for 12 years until 1991.

Coaty, 47, is an attorney with a practice in Middletown, which he established after a 10-year career as a Navy JAG.

Crowley, the longest serving Democrat in the General Assembly, died on Sept. 24 after a long struggle with melanoma. He had served in the House for 27 consecutive years. The secretary of state’s office scheduled yesterday’s special election in observance of a state law requiring that such an election be held 70 to 90 days after an assembly member’s death.

Coaty had experience in politics in Milwaukee in the 1980s, when he served as the campaign manager for the city’s mayor and ran for a seat on the county board. But it wasn’t until Crowley’s seat opened that he made his first bid for public office in Rhode Island.

Coaty said he decided to enter the race when it appeared no one else was going to run against Cicilline. Just before the deadline, however, two others joined the race.

One was Democrat David R. Carlin III, whom Cicilline defeated in a primary on Nov. 13. The other was independent James Stanek, who last week withdrew from the race for personal reasons.

Stanek’s name appeared on the ballot yesterday because his announcement came after the election ballots had been printed. Richard E. O’Neill, the canvassing clerk, said that poll workers sought to inform voters that Stanek had formally withdrawn. Stanek, who threw his support to Coaty, received only five votes.

Coaty said that during the campaign he figured he would need more than 1,200 voters to come to the polls to give him a chance of winning.

“That was a pretty good turnout for a special election one week before Christmas,” he said. “That was very gratifying.”

rsalit@projo.com