Wednesday, May 31, 2023

GoLocalProv Political Team

Where do the top Democrats in Rhode Island live? More and more, the power structure is moving to Jamestown.

The island of Jamestown is now the hot spot for Rhode Island Democratic political elite. A growing number of the top party Democratic leaders have moved to the affluent and overwhelmingly white community — moving from communities like Cranston, East Providence, and Warwick for the “island life.”

Today, it is the year-round home for transplants like Democratic U.S. Senator Jack Reed, Democratic national committeewoman Liz Perik, Democratic first district congressional candidate Don Carlson and more.

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Perik has regularly hosted at her home on the water elaborate Democratic Party soirees over the years, raising hundreds of thousands for the likes of Nancy Pelosi, Patrick Kennedy, and other prominent Democrats.

Then, there are powerhouse lobbyists like George Zainyeh and Lenny Lopes, who have moved to the island from Warwick and East Providence, respectively. Both are highly experienced Democratic Party operatives. Zainyeh was a State Representative representing Warwick, was the Democratic candidate for Mayor in that city, and later was chief of staff to Patrick Kennedy and independent turned Democrat Governor Lincoln Chafee.

Lopes was chief of staff to Democratic Attorney General Patrick Lynch and heads his own lobbying firm.

Even Speaker of the House Joe Shekarchi’s brother John has moved to idyllic Jamestown.

They are all transplants.

The one native is fifth-generation Islander Democratic Attorney General Peter Neronha.

Big Pockets

And, to move to the island, business has to be good. Jamestown has its share of top hedge fund and private equity executives, including Rhode Island billionaire Jonathan Nelson of Providence Equity.

The median price of a single-family home in Jamestown is $1.2 million dollars — only Block Island is more expensive, according to data from the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.

That is approximately three times higher than the median price of a single-family home in Rhode Island. The median price of a single-family home in the state is now $425,000.

Party of the People, Island of the White

In 2009, The New York Times wrote about Jamestown, “The views from the two soaring bridges over Narragansett Bay that lead to Jamestown, R.I., go a long way to explaining why it’s been a popular second-home draw since the Civil War. From above, the island’s grooved rocky cliffs, topped with a dark fuzz of trees along sapphire-bright coves, can seem almost sculptural.” 

Jamestown is not only the island of the wealthy, but it is also overwhelmingly white — more than 95% of the residents are white according to U.S. census data.

Blacks, Latinos, native-Americans and Asians are each about 1% — or less than 280 non-whites among the 5,500 island residents.

Density of Power

To put the power density into comparison, of the top nine elected officials in Rhode Island — the four members of Congress and the five statewide elected officials — two of them reside in Jamestown.

With first congressional district Democratic Congressman David Cicilline stepping down on Wednesday, only one of the top nine lives in Providence — just Lt. Governor Sabina Matos.

Jamestown has less than 3% of the population of Providence.

Jamestown for the Rest of Us

For most Rhode Islanders, Jamestown is a place to drive over on the way to Newport and for some enjoyment of Beavertail State Park.

The island offers just a handful of restaurants and only a couple of locations for overnight stays, but make no mistake about it, Jamestown is growing in popularity for the hedge fund and private equity class as well as top Rhode Island power Democrats.

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