Depena (right) with former gubernatorial candidate Myrth York.
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When Melba Depena was selected as executive director of the Rhode Island Democratic Party in 2003, the bright and energetic 31-year-old native of the Dominican Republic was seen as a smart choice to help make the party more welcoming to women and Latinos. But after attracting mixed reviews during two-and-a-half years in the job, Depena is leaving to take a position next month as executive director of the moribund Providence Human Relations Commission.
Bill Lynch, chairman of the state Democratic Party, confirmed Tuesday that Depena is slated to assume the leadership of the Human Relations Commission in early-to-mid July. “She’s done just a great job,” says Lynch, describing the new role as a “tremendous job opportunity for personal advancement . . . It was only a matter of time before someone saw her capabilities and recruited her away, which is essentially what happened.”
After the Phoenix reported the story on its Web site Tuesday afternoon, Rhode Island Democrats released a statement Wednesday morning. The press release, headlined, “RI Democrats thank Depena for effective leadership and service,” includes plaudits from Senator Jack Reed, US Representatives Patrick Kennedy and James Langevin, House Speaker William J. Murphy, and Senate President Joseph Montalbano.
In an interview Wednesday, Depena, now 35, expressed satisfaction about her tenure with the Rhode Island Democrats, claiming credit for helping to build infrastructure -- including the hiring of two staffers and more than 20 organizers -- raising the party’s public profile, and assembling a coordinated campaign in preparation for the November 2006 campaigns.
Speaking privately, however, a number of Democrats express disappointment about Depena’s efforts as executive director of the party. As one party member says, “I think people are very proud of her in the Hispanic community, but she didn’t really follow through on what she said she was going to be doing. She didn’t come as advertised.”
The prospect of change near the top of the state party comes as Rhode Island is playing an increasingly prominent role in Democratic efforts to gain ground nationally this November. Lieutenant Governor Charles Fogarty has emerged as a strong competitor to Republican Governor Donald L. Carcieri, and with US Senator Lincoln Chafee facing a GOP primary challenge from Cranston Mayor Stephen P. Laffey, Democratic Senate frontrunner Sheldon Whitehouse is well positioned for the general campaign.
Lynch says a replacement for Depena has not yet been chosen and that interviews are ongoing.
Hopes were high when Lynch tabbed Depena for the party post in December 2003, an event that attracted a number of top Democrats to Ada’s Creations on Broad Street in South Providence. The move came after Depena had used a Phoenix article, about growing Latino political activism, to rap outreach efforts by local and national Democrats. As seen by a January spread in Rhode Island Monthly, which named her as among the magazine’s “people to watch” for 2006, the activist was capable of generating positive press -- a situation viewed by her critics with considerable irony. “She has been not a factor for so long,” says another Democrat.
