FORMER PRO WRESTLER THROWS HAT IN RING FOR MAYOR
- 05/06/2006 (4:13:19 pm)
- Pawtucket Times
…..
Former pro wrestler throws hat in ring for Pawtucket Mayor
PAWTUCKET -- His face and physique may already be familiar to many: He’s been in numerous wrestling matches, including on cable TV, and even appeared on "The Jerry Springer Show."
Now Douglas Tunstall Jr. wants to land on the Pawtucket ballot as a Republican candidate for mayor, a candidacy that would be unique in city history in several ways.
He would be the first African-American ever to seek the office, let alone the first black Republican.
And as a black Republican mayoral candidate who is also a former midget wrestler, the 38-year-old Tunstall may be in a class by himself anywhere in America.
With well-financed eight-year Democratic Mayor James E. Doyle’s hat going in the ring for another two-year term, it may seem that Tunstall, of 40 1/2 Bullock St., is facing an uphill climb. (Also already announced for mayor is Thomas Magill, a retired firefighter, and a former droput mayoral contender, John Madden, is also talking of entering the race.)
Also not in Tunstall’s favor is a record of eight criminal misdemeanor arrests, including for assaulting a police officer and domestic assault.
But for Tunstall, all 4 feet, 8 inches of him, uphill climbs are hardly new.
"I have no budget. I have no funding. I have a disability," which qualified him for SSI benefits, said Tunstall, who also has no campaign fund, manager or workers yet.
"What I’m going to do is ghetto-style politics and what that means is using computers, using handouts," and door-to-door campaigning to accumulate the 200 needed voter signatures (which must be assembled from June 26-28) to qualify for a citywide race and get out the word on his candidacy, he said.
Tunstall said the only other office he has ever run for was as a student at Gilbert Stuart School in Providence, where he grew up.
"I lost for class president to Tammy Fuller, and I cried," he recalled. "I was maybe 9 or 10 years old. That was a severe loss. I couldn’t take it. It hurt."
One person who has no doubt Tunstall is serious about running is Lester Olson, the longtime city Republican party leader, whom Tunstall approached a couple of weeks ago for advice and to say he would enter the race.
"I don’t doubt his sincerity," said Olson, who plans to invite Tunstall to the next Republican City Committee meeting later this month and has given him some local GOP names to contact.
"I’d probably collect some signatures for him. I don’t have anybody else (Republican candidate for mayor) at this point," said Olson,who was unaware of Tunstall’s criminal record until told by a reporter.
Also convinced Tunstall means business is city elections chief Ken McGill.
"He’s very serious about running," McGill said. "He’s been in our office quite a few times," checking elections rules.
Especially in Pawtucket, with something over 3,000 registered Republican voters, "Doug is unique in that he’s an African-American and a Republican," McGill noted. "When was the last time the Republicans even had a candidate for mayor?"
Tunstall, who says "I’ve always been a Republican," recalled Olson suggested he might want to try for a lesser office, like City Council or School Committee, instead of starting at the top, but he said it’s mayor he wants to aim at.
Regardless of the office, Olson noted, "I don’t think we’ve ever had a black person run, whether Republican or Democrat," for city offices.
That’s not quite accurate though not far off.
McGill and other longtime political watchers recall African-American George Barber winning election to the Democratic City Committee in the early 1980s, and Richard Addison (who could not be reached), also a Democrat, running unsuccessfully for General Assembly and possibly other offices in the early 1990s. But that seems to be about it.
"(Tunstall) is a serious candidate and it’s going to shake things up in city politics," McGill said, where a new, still incomplete tally may end up showing more registered independents than Democrats for the first time, he added.
Though the city returned to partisan elections only in recent years, McGill said even the decades of nonpartisan-elected mayors named Kinch, Lynch, Metivier, Sarault, Burns, etc. were all Democrats. And from the 1950s to decades before -- including many Irish surnames such as McCarthy, McCoy, Quinn and down to Fitzgerald and Cronin at the turn of the century -- Democratic mayor was the standard.
Tunstall, who during the 1990s was known for his showmanship and array of costumes when he wrestled as "Tiny the Terrible" and "Little Dougie Tunstall," said he’s running for mayor because he needs a job and thinks he could bring a new approach to the office.
He also said there was "a personal thing that triggered it."
Around the holidays, he said the mayor’s wife, Joan, drove up to visit as a "secret Santa" to the house of the mother of his two girls, ages 7 and 9. When the mother told him he had to leave, he determined his daughters would not respect anyone more than their father.
"But I’ll tell you one thing," since he has begun his mayor quest, "my kids look at me differently because of this. That whole respect changed."
Tunstall said he graduated from Central Falls High School in 1985, where he wrestled varsity three seasons and won more than 90 percent of his matches in the 98-to-105-pound class.
The son of a Vietnam veteran of normal height (Tunstall said his mother is shorter than he is, and his brother is slightly taller), he said he worked briefly for the Veterans Administration in Providence, one of a string of jobs he has held for brief periods, also including in telemarketing and as a groundskeeper at the Rhode Island Veterans Cemetery in Exeter.
Tunstall said he completed an 18-month course in private security investigation (his ambition at one time was to be an FBI agent) at R.I. Trade Shops School.
After years of taking classes at CCRI, he said, he earned an associate’s degree in general studies about four years ago and has also taken science-related classes at Rhode Island College. He said he has been on SSI disability since 1995, a year after he moved to Pawtucket.
The wrestling circuit, he said, "was more or less like therapy," and through the New England Wrestling Alliance he also appeared at numerous charity shows.
Often, he would work "with another midget. That’s why we could keep going and doing shows because everyone wanted to see us. I stole the show -- I loved it. I loved the attention. People booing you, 400 or 500 people, when the fans react to it. It’s a nice buzz."
His notoriety, he said, got him an invitation to appear on Springer’s show, the last time shortly after the 9-11 attacks.
"I did three ‘Jerry Springers’.’ I can’t go on and say it’s fake," because he had to sign a document he would not hurt "the integrity of the show," he said.
According to the state adult criminal database, Tunstall was arrested on misdemeanor charges by police in East Providence, North Providence (three times), Pawtucket (in 1996 for domestic assault), Warwick and by State Police in Lincoln, in a series of incidents from 1990 to 1999. Charges ranged from driving on a suspended license (twice) to assaulting an officer.
A jury in 1991 found him guilty of assaulting a uniformed State Police officer and obstructing police. In 1996, he received six months’ probation for no-contest pleas to resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. The last charge, for simple assault in 1999, was dismissed.
"That was all in the ’90s, right after my father died," Tunstall said. "I could tell you a long story about all those things but I’m not going to do that."
Another incident that gained some notoriety was when Pawtucket police, responding to a complaint, took away his Cadillac hearse and a coffin parked in it that he used in his wrestling act, he said.
McGill said Tunstall has filled out a card stating he has no felony convictions and thus is eligible to vote and seek public office.
Tunstall is not shy of saying he’s running for the $80,000 mayor’s post because "I want a job. A lot of people don’t want to say that. I feel if I qualify, why not attempt it..All my life, I tried to get to the big time," he said.
"But I also think I can help people and bring in money. I have friends who would be interested in investing in Pawtucket," said Tunstall, who sports a trademark hat in his campaign flyers.
Tunstall, who is single, in an interview offered no specific platform, including any approach to the ongoing schools funding crisis.
But if elected mayor, "I got a radical idea. I have some friends (at a major sneaker company), I could get $5 million (donated) from them. I know I could do it.
"Another thing I could possibly do, I know some Arabs also. If they could help some Pawtucket residents on their gas -- you never know."
If elected, "I can guarantee this city would be way better off," he said.
As for being a black Republican, Tunstall, who said he voted for President Bush because "I liked the way he carried himself," said his political affiliation can be unpopular with friends.
"A lot of black people don’t even want to talk to me. But I have my own mind, I have my own proposals, my own ideas. And that’s what Pawtucket needs. We need somebody to think futuristic," he said.
Also not in Tunstall’s favor is a record of eight criminal misdemeanor arrests, including for assaulting a police officer and domestic assault.
But for Tunstall, all 4 feet, 8 inches of him, uphill climbs are hardly new.
"I have no budget. I have no funding. I have a disability," which qualified him for SSI benefits, said Tunstall, who also has no campaign fund, manager or workers yet.
"What I’m going to do is ghetto-style politics and what that means is using computers, using handouts," and door-to-door campaigning to accumulate the 200 needed voter signatures (which must be assembled from June 26-28) to qualify for a citywide race and get out the word on his candidacy, he said.
Tunstall said the only other office he has ever run for was as a student at Gilbert Stuart School in Providence, where he grew up.
"I lost for class president to Tammy Fuller, and I cried," he recalled. "I was maybe 9 or 10 years old. That was a severe loss. I couldn’t take it. It hurt."
One person who has no doubt Tunstall is serious about running is Lester Olson, the longtime city Republican party leader, whom Tunstall approached a couple of weeks ago for advice and to say he would enter the race.
"I don’t doubt his sincerity," said Olson, who plans to invite Tunstall to the next Republican City Committee meeting later this month and has given him some local GOP names to contact.
"I’d probably collect some signatures for him. I don’t have anybody else (Republican candidate for mayor) at this point," said Olson,who was unaware of Tunstall’s criminal record until told by a reporter.
Also convinced Tunstall means business is city elections chief Ken McGill.
"He’s very serious about running," McGill said. "He’s been in our office quite a few times," checking elections rules.
Especially in Pawtucket, with something over 3,000 registered Republican voters, "Doug is unique in that he’s an African-American and a Republican," McGill noted. "When was the last time the Republicans even had a candidate for mayor?"
Tunstall, who says "I’ve always been a Republican," recalled Olson suggested he might want to try for a lesser office, like City Council or School Committee, instead of starting at the top, but he said it’s mayor he wants to aim at.
Regardless of the office, Olson noted, "I don’t think we’ve ever had a black person run, whether Republican or Democrat," for city offices.
That’s not quite accurate though not far off.
McGill and other longtime political watchers recall African-American George Barber winning election to the Democratic City Committee in the early 1980s, and Richard Addison (who could not be reached), also a Democrat, running unsuccessfully for General Assembly and possibly other offices in the early 1990s. But that seems to be about it.
"(Tunstall) is a serious candidate and it’s going to shake things up in city politics," McGill said, where a new, still incomplete tally may end up showing more registered independents than Democrats for the first time, he added.
Though the city returned to partisan elections only in recent years, McGill said even the decades of nonpartisan-elected mayors named Kinch, Lynch, Metivier, Sarault, Burns, etc. were all Democrats. And from the 1950s to decades before -- including many Irish surnames such as McCarthy, McCoy, Quinn and down to Fitzgerald and Cronin at the turn of the century -- Democratic mayor was the standard.
Tunstall, who during the 1990s was known for his showmanship and array of costumes when he wrestled as "Tiny the Terrible" and "Little Dougie Tunstall," said he’s running for mayor because he needs a job and thinks he could bring a new approach to the office.
He also said there was "a personal thing that triggered it."
Around the holidays, he said the mayor’s wife, Joan, drove up to visit as a "secret Santa" to the house of the mother of his two girls, ages 7 and 9. When the mother told him he had to leave, he determined his daughters would not respect anyone more than their father.
"But I’ll tell you one thing," since he has begun his mayor quest, "my kids look at me differently because of this. That whole respect changed."
Tunstall said he graduated from Central Falls High School in 1985, where he wrestled varsity three seasons and won more than 90 percent of his matches in the 98-to-105-pound class.
The son of a Vietnam veteran of normal height (Tunstall said his mother is shorter than he is, and his brother is slightly taller), he said he worked briefly for the Veterans Administration in Providence, one of a string of jobs he has held for brief periods, also including in telemarketing and as a groundskeeper at the Rhode Island Veterans Cemetery in Exeter.
Tunstall said he completed an 18-month course in private security investigation (his ambition at one time was to be an FBI agent) at R.I. Trade Shops School.
After years of taking classes at CCRI, he said, he earned an associate’s degree in general studies about four years ago and has also taken science-related classes at Rhode Island College. He said he has been on SSI disability since 1995, a year after he moved to Pawtucket.
The wrestling circuit, he said, "was more or less like therapy," and through the New England Wrestling Alliance he also appeared at numerous charity shows.
Often, he would work "with another midget. That’s why we could keep going and doing shows because everyone wanted to see us. I stole the show -- I loved it. I loved the attention. People booing you, 400 or 500 people, when the fans react to it. It’s a nice buzz."
His notoriety, he said, got him an invitation to appear on Springer’s show, the last time shortly after the 9-11 attacks.
"I did three ‘Jerry Springers’.’ I can’t go on and say it’s fake," because he had to sign a document he would not hurt "the integrity of the show," he said.
According to the state adult criminal database, Tunstall was arrested on misdemeanor charges by police in East Providence, North Providence (three times), Pawtucket (in 1996 for domestic assault), Warwick and by State Police in Lincoln, in a series of incidents from 1990 to 1999. Charges ranged from driving on a suspended license (twice) to assaulting an officer.
A jury in 1991 found him guilty of assaulting a uniformed State Police officer and obstructing police. In 1996, he received six months’ probation for no-contest pleas to resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. The last charge, for simple assault in 1999, was dismissed.
"That was all in the ’90s, right after my father died," Tunstall said. "I could tell you a long story about all those things but I’m not going to do that."
Another incident that gained some notoriety was when Pawtucket police, responding to a complaint, took away his Cadillac hearse and a coffin parked in it that he used in his wrestling act, he said.
McGill said Tunstall has filled out a card stating he has no felony convictions and thus is eligible to vote and seek public office.
Tunstall is not shy of saying he’s running for the $80,000 mayor’s post because "I want a job. A lot of people don’t want to say that. I feel if I qualify, why not attempt it..All my life, I tried to get to the big time," he said.
"But I also think I can help people and bring in money. I have friends who would be interested in investing in Pawtucket," said Tunstall, who sports a trademark hat in his campaign flyers.
Tunstall, who is single, in an interview offered no specific platform, including any approach to the ongoing schools funding crisis.
But if elected mayor, "I got a radical idea. I have some friends (at a major sneaker company), I could get $5 million (donated) from them. I know I could do it.
"Another thing I could possibly do, I know some Arabs also. If they could help some Pawtucket residents on their gas -- you never know."
If elected, "I can guarantee this city would be way better off," he said.
As for being a black Republican, Tunstall, who said he voted for President Bush because "I liked the way he carried himself," said his political affiliation can be unpopular with friends.
"A lot of black people don’t even want to talk to me. But I have my own mind, I have my own proposals, my own ideas. And that’s what Pawtucket needs. We need somebody to think futuristic," he said.
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