Robert J. Healey
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Robert J. Healey Jr. (May 3, 1957 – March 20, 2016) was an American attorney, businessman, and political activist. He was the founder of
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
's Cool Moose Party, the state's third-largest political party from 1994 until 2002, and was a
perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can ...
for statewide office. Healey ran for
governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
or
lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
a total of seven times. Running as an independent candidate in 2010, he won 39% of the vote for lieutenant governor, running on a platform of abolishing the office. As the
Moderate Party The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic liber ...
nominee for governor in
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, Healey won 22% of the vote while spending less than $40 on the campaign.


Early life, education and early career

Robert J. Healey was born in
Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
to Robert J. Healey Sr. and Mary (née Martinelli) Healey on May 3, 1957. His father was a plumber and his mother a factory worker. He grew up in
Warren, Rhode Island Warren is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 11,147 at the 2020 census. History Warren was the site of the Pokanoket Indian settlement of Sowams located on a peninsula within the Pokanoket region. The reg ...
, and graduated from Warren High School in 1975. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree in English and Secondary Education from Rhode Island College, a master's degree in Reading Education from
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
(1980), a degree in law from the
New England School of Law New England Law , Boston (formerly New England School of Law) is a private law school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded as Portia School of Law in 1908 and is located in downtown Boston near the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Fina ...
(1983), and a master's degree in English literature from
Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...
(1985). In 1983 he began a PhD program at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, but after he had completed all the requirements, his dissertation supervisor died and he could not find a replacement. He was elected to the Warren School Committee in 1982, serving as chairman until 1986. His election slogan was "A Strange Man for a Strange Job". He ran for governor as an independent in
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...
. After his first run for governor, He was also secretary of the Bristol County Bar association.


Cool Moose Party

The Cool Moose Party (CMP) was founded by Healey in 1994 during his second gubernatorial campaign. The party's platform is "to break down the ideological barriers that have kept common sense out of our government". Healey won 9% of the vote in 1994. In 1996, twenty CMP candidates ran for office; all were defeated. In 1998, the Cool Moose Party successfully sued the state of Rhode Island to change its restrictive laws regarding primary elections. ''Cool Moose Party v. State of Rhode Island'' has been referenced in other states' court decisions relating to third-party candidates. Healey ran for lieutenant governor in 2002, 2006, and 2010. In 2010 he ran on a platform of abolishing the office, as it has no constitutionally-mandated duties outside of waiting for the governor to become incapacitated. Running against incumbent Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Roberts in that election, Healey won 39% of the vote after Republican Heidi Rogers dropped out so as not to split the "abolish the office" vote.


2014 gubernatorial campaign

In September 2014, Healey announced he was running for governor as a Moderate Party candidate. His announcement came after the original Moderate nominee, James Spooner, withdrew from the race for health reasons. Healey stated he would not accept any funding, instead opting for a "guerilla campaign" for a "cerebral revolution". Shortly after he filed his candidacy, the Rhode Island GOP challenged the legality of the move on procedural grounds. The state board of elections found that Healey was in fact eligible to replace Spooner on the ballot. Healey spent a total of only $35.31 on his entire gubernatorial campaign, which he said went to purchase a
prepaid mobile phone A prepaid mobile device, also known as a, pay-as-you-go (PAYG), pay-as-you-talk, pay and go, go-phone, prepay or burner phone, is a mobile device such as a phone for which credit is purchased in advance of service use. The purchased credit is ...
and a phone card, items he purchased himself. Healey's only advertisement during the campaign was a minimalist billboard featuring a caricature of his face, which he painted himself on the side of his friend's house overlooking
Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...
in Providence. Healey came in third, with 21.4% of the election votes.


Other activities

Healey invested in several business ventures. A liquor wholesaling company that he founded with a partner was very successful and Healey sold out his stake and invested in land in South America. He also exported
California wine California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted ''Vitis vinifera'' vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. I ...
s to
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
, imported tableware from Uruguay, started an ice cream business, a wine and cheese outlet, and a yachting service. He wrote a children's book, ''The King Needs Sleep''. Healey served as secretary of the Bristol County Bar Association from the mid-1980s to the mid-2010s.


Death

Healey was found dead in his bed at his home in
Barrington, Rhode Island Barrington is a suburban, residential town in Bristol County, Rhode Island located approximately southeast of Providence. It was founded by Congregationalist separatists from Swansea, Massachusetts and incorporated in 1717. Barrington was ceded ...
before midnight on March 20, 2016. He is believed to have died from a heart attack in his sleep. He was 58 years old. He was buried on March 29 next to his parents at St. Alexander's Cemetery in Warren, Rhode Island. Upon Healey's death, Rhode Island governor—and his 2014 gubernatorial opponent—
Gina Raimondo Gina Marie Raimondo (; born May 17, 1971) is an American politician, lawyer, and venture capitalist who has served as the 40th United States Secretary of Commerce since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the 75th go ...
issued a statement to the ''
Providence Journal ''The Providence Journal'', colloquially known as the ''ProJo'', is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, Rhode Island, and is the largest newspaper in Rhode Island. The newspaper was first published in 1829. The newspape ...
'' that she would "miss his passion and willingness to engage in spirited debate."


Electoral history


References


External links


Bob Healey's Campaign Journal – A Guerrilla Guide to the Cerebral Revolution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Healey, Robert J. 1957 births 2016 deaths Boston University School of Education alumni Burials in Rhode Island Businesspeople from Providence, Rhode Island Columbia University alumni New England Law Boston alumni Northwestern University alumni People from Barrington, Rhode Island Rhode Island College alumni Rhode Island Independents Rhode Island lawyers School board members in Rhode Island Writers from Providence, Rhode Island American political party founders 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American lawyers