Newcomer ready to challenge Langevin for Democratic nod

Author of the book, “It Takes a Candidate: Why Women Don’t Run For Office,” Jennifer L. Lawless has apparently decided to reverse that trend, taking a lesson from its chapters by announcing tomorrow afternoon that she will challenge Congressman Jim Langevin in the 2006 election. As a result, Lawless, a fellow Democrat, will force the incumbent into a primary. Her official declaration is scheduled for 3 p.m. in the formal dining room on the first floor of CCRI’s Knight Campus in Warwick.

A political newcomer who has never held public office, the 30-year-old Middletown, NY native, born in the borough of Queens, is a professor of political science at Brown University.

Lawless acknowledged that she recently relocated from an apartment on the East Side of Providence to similar quarters in the Edgewood section of Cranston to enable her to run in Langevin’s 2nd Congressional District.

“I’ve always been interested in civic engagement,” said Lawless, who for the past two years has taught classes on such subjects as campaigning and elections.

Describing the impetus for her book, Lawless explained that many women in the U.S. fail to enter politics because they are disenchanted with the system, believe that running for office is futile, and are often unprepared for the commitment of time, money and energy necessary to run a successful campaign, especially if they are married and raising a family.

Single, Lawless said that she would not take a leave of absence from Brown but would essentially work full time along with her campaign staff over the next 18 months in hopes of winning voters for her challenge to Langevin.

“It is time for a change,” said Lawless, noting that her candidacy would be based on a “pillar” of four subjects: education, healthcare, jobs and “choice.” The latter, she explained, revolved around women’s reproductive rights. Lawless said that she supports women’s rights to have an abortion, a subject that Langevin strongly opposes.

The Lawless for Congress campaign would prefer to keep the exact whereabouts of its office under wraps for now, pending a formal opening, advised her campaign manager, Adam Deitch, a recent graduate from Brown who was a student of Lawless, graduating with a B.A. in political science. But the property’s landlord, Paul Tremblay, owner of West Shore Carpet and Blinds next door, revealed that Lawless rented one of his storefronts at 750 West Shore Road in Conimicut Village and began moving into the space last Wednesday. Lawless said that the office would be up and running within the next few weeks.

There is already a website associated with the campaign, www.LawlessforCongress.com.

With an impressive list of academic credentials, including a master’s and a doctorate in political science from Stanford University in Connecticut, Lawless is also being recognized by one of her colleagues at Brown as a highly capable individual and a good candidate.

Darrell West, a fellow professor in the political science department and a noted political analyst in Rhode Island, said that Lawless’ biggest immediate challenge would be money.

“It’s almost impossible to beat incumbents,” said West, remarking that substantial sums of cash would be necessary in order for Lawless to raise awareness of her candidacy and platform issues. “What she has to do is to introduce herself to Rhode Island.”

Lawless yesterday said that she has not met with the leadership of the Rhode Island Democratic Party to discuss her campaign, but has scheduled a meeting with officials on the topic for the end of this month.

Langevin did not offer an official response to the pending announcement, according to his press secretary Joy Fox. Instead, Fox said, “I welcome her to Rhode Island, the 2nd (Congressional) District and the race.”

This article, written by Mark Silberstein, appeared on June 14, 2005, in the Warwick Beacon.